Lead: Recent arrivals at major ports remain low, with inventories at the main East China port hitting new historical lows again. Spot supply in the region is tightening, giving sellers the upper hand in pricing for diethylene glycol. The market price center continues to strengthen.
Figure 1: 2025-2026 Spot Price Trend of Domestic Diethylene Glycol Market (CNY/ton)
Data source: Chempricehub
During the week, the highest price for diethylene glycol in East China was 8,450 CNY/ton, and the lowest was 8,080 CNY/ton. The average weekly price in Zhangjiagang was 8,246 CNY/ton, an increase of 2.36%. During the period, previously idled units in East China restarted, leading to a slight increase in domestic supply. Downstream demand lacked support, showing resistance to high prices, which hindered price transmission along the chain. However, the situation in the Middle East remained volatile, international oil prices rebounded from lows, port arrivals were scarce recently, and port inventories hit historical lows. Spot supply in the East China market tightened this week, maintaining a strong pattern in the domestic diethylene glycol market.
Recent MEG Unit Maintenance Schedule
Unit: 10,000 tons/year
| Producer | Capacity | Start Time | End Time | July Maintenance Days | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shanghai Petrochemical #1 | 2.3 | Switch to EO | / | / | Economic |
| Sanjiang Chemical #1 | 3.8 | 2025.5.27 | TBD | 31 | Economic |
| Shenghong Refining #1 | 8 | 2025.12.4 | End of Q1 2026 | 31 | Planned |
| Satellite Chemical | 7.5 | 2026.2.11 | TBD | 31 | Product Switch |
| Fujian Gulei | 6 | 2026.3.6 | Mid-July restart | 20 | Planned |
| Zhejiang Petrochemical | 6.5 | 2026.4.21 | TBD | 31 | Economic |
| Far Eastern Union (Yangzhou) | 4.5 | 2026.5.20 | Planned 40 days | 31 | Economic |
| Yangzi Petrochemical | 3 | 2026.5.15 | TBD | 31 | Planned |
| Hainan Refining | 6.5 | 2026.6.5 | November | 31 | Planned |
| Zhejiang Petrochemical | 6 | 2026.6.8 | 10 days | 10 | Planned |
| CNOOC Shell | 3.5 | 2026.4.5 | July 10 production out | 10 | Planned |
| Total | 57.6 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Data source: Chempricehub
Recently, Zhejiang Petrochemical's Line 1 has restarted and is running stably. CNOOC Shell and Gulei Petrochemical are also expected to restart successively, easing domestic supply to some extent. However, this supply increase mainly comes from South China, which is a key factor leading to price inversion between South China and East China.
Figure 2: Weekly Inventory Trend at Major Diethylene Glycol Ports (Units: tons, 10,000 tons)
Data source: Chempricehub
As of Monday this week, diethylene glycol port inventory in East China stood at 0.68 million tons, a decrease of 0.06 million tons compared to the previous week. From July 2 to July 8, total shipments from the Yangtze River International and Fubao depot areas at East China's main port were 1,964 tons, with an average daily shipment of about 281 tons. Next week, approximately 4,000 tons of diethylene glycol from Canada and Taiwan are scheduled to be unloaded at Zhangjiagang, which will provide a beneficial supplement to spot supply.
Outlook: In the short term, spot supply remains tight, and spot liquidity is poor, keeping the diethylene glycol market in a relatively strong pattern. However, imported cargoes will be supplemented beneficially next week, and domestic units that were previously under maintenance will also restart successively. Therefore, it is expected that the upside potential for the East China diethylene glycol market is limited, and the market may gradually come under pressure.
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