Lead: Recently, the available spot supply in China's cyclohexanone market has been limited. Price fluctuations for the raw material benzene have narrowed, and cyclohexanone prices have moved in a narrow range in tandem with cost-side changes, resulting in an overall range-bound consolidation pattern. As of May 9, cyclohexanone prices in East China were quoted at 9,950-10,050 RMB/ton.

Fundamentals Stable, Cyclohexanone Maintains Range-Bound Consolidation

Recently, China's domestic cyclohexanone market has primarily been experiencing range-bound consolidation. Benzene prices have been fluctuating mildly, providing relatively stable cost-side support. Additionally, the supply and demand for cyclohexanone merchant volume have been roughly balanced, leading to limited volatility in industry fundamentals. Consequently, cyclohexanone prices have adjusted narrowly in line with benzene trends. After the Labor Day holiday, benzene prices weakened slightly. Sinopec East China lowered its benzene listing price by 350 RMB/ton to 8,500 RMB/ton, which caused cyclohexanone spot prices to soften in tandem. As of May 9, the reference price for cyclohexanone in the East China market was 9,950-10,050 RMB/ton, down 150 RMB/ton or about 1.48% from before the Labor Day holiday. Compared to the same period last month, the price decreased by 50 RMB/ton, a decline of around 0.5%.

High Raw Material Costs Squeeze Margins, Cyclohexanone Profitability Diverges

The ongoing integration of the cyclohexanone-caprolactam production chain continues to improve. As a key chemical intermediate, the proportion of cyclohexanone sold as merchant product is gradually shrinking. Recently, both benzene and cyclohexanone have been trading in a range, with the benzene-cyclohexanone price spread maintaining around 1,500 RMB/ton. Profitability among producers varies: the hydration process operates near the cost line with thin margins, while the oxidation process, which purchases benzene externally, remains loss-making. As of May 9, the theoretical profit for the hydration process was 195 RMB/ton, while the oxidation process posted a loss of 805 RMB/ton.

Integration Trend Deepens, Merchant Spot Supply Remains Limited

| Producer | Capacity (10,000 tons) | Unit Status |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| Yangmei Fengxi | 6 | Shut down on May 9; planned maintenance 15-20 days |
| Dongming Xuyang | 37 | Primarily for captive use |
| Hualu Hengsheng | 52 | Operating normally; small volume for external sale |
| Weiming Petrochemical | 15 | Shut down |
| Jiangsu Haili | 30 | Shut down |
| Inner Mongolia Qinghua | 20 | Operating normally |
| Henan Shouheng | 20 | Operating normally |
| Chongqing Huafeng | 20 | Normal external sales |
| Fujian Shenma | 80 | Primarily for captive use; small volume for external sale |

According to statistics from chempricehub, although some producers such as Weiming Petrochemical and Jiangsu Haili are shut down, and Yangmei Fengxi is undergoing short-term maintenance, major producers like Hualu Hengsheng, Inner Mongolia Qinghua, and Chongqing Huafeng have their units running normally. Therefore, the overall spot supply of cyclohexanone has not fluctuated significantly. As the integration of cyclohexanone-caprolactam continues to deepen, most downstream users have achieved self-sufficiency, with only a few plants selling merchant volume. Downstream demand is mainly for essential procurement, and buyers are cautious about high prices. The cyclohexanone merchant market features a pattern of weak supply and weak demand.

Fundamentals Stable, Cyclohexanone to Continue Range-Bound Consolidation

From the supply and demand perspective, cyclohexanone merchant units are operating steadily, and spot supply is relatively stable. Under the integration trend, downstream users purchase on a need basis and have limited acceptance of high prices. For the raw material benzene, fundamentals continue to show destocking. Coupled with easing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, benzene prices have declined and then rebounded, solidifying cost support. Overall assessment: Cyclohexanone fundamentals remain broadly stable, and the market is expected to continue its narrow range-bound movement in line with benzene in the short term.