Ethylene Oxide Market Morning Briefing (2026-09-08)

I. Key Points

1. September 7: The US-Iran conflict remains unresolved, Saudi oil facilities were attacked, supply risks persist, and international oil prices rose. NYMEX crude oil futures were closed for one day due to the US Labor Day holiday, with no settlement price. ICE Brent crude futures for November rose $0.72/bbl to $97/bbl, up +0.75% period-on-period. China's INE crude oil futures (2610 contract) rose 5.4 yuan/bbl to 688.5 yuan/bbl, and gained another 11.9 yuan/bbl in night trading to settle at 700.4 yuan/bbl.

2. September 7: Port ethylene was quoted at $1,105/mt in USD terms on a CFR Northeast Asia basis, unchanged from the previous working day.

3. September 7: Daily capacity utilization for China's ethylene oxide industry stood at 51.62%.

II. Price List

Source: Chempricehub

Notes:

1. The two quoted prices are point-in-time prices for the last two working days, not weekly averages.
2. All RMB prices in the table above are tax-inclusive ex-works prices with spot exchange settlement.
3. Change rate is calculated on a period-on-period basis.
4. Unit: yuan/mt.

III. Market Outlook

The ethylene oxide market is expected to strengthen in the near term. On the supply side, ethylene glycol prices still have room to rise, which continues to noticeably divert feedstock from co-production units. In this context, merchant ethylene oxide external sales volumes are unlikely to see any significant increase in the near term. On the demand side, downstream operating rates are fluctuating within a narrow range, with overall offtake proceeding steadily under contract volumes. On the cost side, ethylene remains supported by tight supply, and major producers continue to hold offers at high levels, providing fairly solid cost support for ethylene oxide. Overall, the short-term supply-demand pattern is constructive, and with clear cost-side support, ethylene oxide prices are still expected to have room for upward movement. Going forward, market participants are advised to closely monitor the dynamic adjustments in upstream and downstream supply-demand conditions.

Note:

1. ↓↑ denotes significant fluctuation, highlighting data dimensions with a change exceeding 3%.
2. ↗↘ denotes narrow fluctuation, highlighting data with a change within 0–3%.

Source: Chempricehub