Persistently High Costs; Caprolactam Remains Firm Amid Wait-and-See Sentiment (September 11, 2026)

1. Today's Highlights

1. Sinopec's refineries in East China, South China, and Central China raised benzene prices by RMB 300/mt to RMB 9,350/mt, effective Sept 9.
2. Sinopec's caprolactam weekly settlement price for the first week of September is RMB 13,960/mt (six-month acceptance, interest-free).

2. Spot Market Overview

Table 1 Domestic Caprolactam Prices (Unit: RMB/mt)

Today, the East China caprolactam market price is RMB 14,300/mt delivered against acceptance, up RMB 300/mt from the previous working day. The upstream benzene market remained strong, caprolactam costs stayed high, and spot prices were mainly firm. Some caprolactam spot prices in the East China market are temporarily around RMB 14,300/mt delivered against acceptance.

3. Production Updates

Today, the caprolactam capacity utilization rate is 68.37%, with a caprolactam capacity base of 8.24 million mt. On the profit side: today, caprolactam production gross profit is -RMB 1,293/mt, and caprolactam plant gross profit is RMB 244/mt.

4. Price Forecast

Upstream benzene prices continued to climb, and cost-side support remained strong. Caprolactam prices are expected to strengthen in tandem later, while downstream wait-and-see sentiment is intensifying at high prices.

5. Related Products

Benzene: Today, East China benzene market prices fell sharply, with mainstream discussions at RMB 9,560–9,600/mt, basically in line with the morning forecast. On the futures board, longs closed positions to avoid weekend risk, pushing prices sharply lower; market sentiment quickly turned bearish, and spot prices followed lower. Holders' willingness to sell increased, and some traders offered discounts to move cargoes. Downstream buying interest was strongly wait-and-see, inquiries were light, and overall trading sentiment weakened noticeably.

PA6 Chips: Cost support on the polymerization side was relatively strong, and chip inventories at polymerization enterprises were low. With multiple bullish factors aligning, PA6 chip prices continued to rise intraday. Today, ordinary conventional-spinning PA6 is quoted at RMB 14,800–15,000/mt cash, short-delivered, and high-speed-spinning spot is at RMB 15,100–15,200/mt delivered against acceptance.

6. Data Calendar

Table 4 Domestic Caprolactam Data Overview (Unit: 10,000 mt)