Strong Cost Support Drives Firm Upward Trend in Domestic Cyclohexanone Market (Sep 25–30, 2026)

1. Key Market Focus This Week

① Feedstock pure benzene prices rose to high levels, exerting significant cost pressure.
② The integration rate between cyclohexanone and caprolactam is relatively high, resulting in a weak balance of supply and demand for spot cyclohexanone.

2. Weekly Market Analysis

During this period, the weekly average market price of cyclohexanone increased. The weekly average spot price in East China reached 10,867 RMB/ton, representing an increase of approximately 3.25% compared to the previous week's average. Throughout the week, the feedstock pure benzene market surged actively, with Sinopec’s posted pure benzene price rising to 10,200 RMB/ton. This provided strong support on the cost side. Although capacity utilization rates for merchant-grade cyclohexanone production declined, downstream buyers reduced their follow-up purchases at these higher prices due to the approaching National Day holiday. Consequently, the market maintained a firm trend, though its gains lagged significantly behind those of pure benzene.

3. Next Week’s Market Forecast

The spot cyclohexanone market is expected to fluctuate in line with pure benzene trends next week. Key factors to monitor include:

1. Supply Side: Operating rates for domestic merchant-grade cyclohexanone units have decreased, leading to a slight contraction in external sales volumes. However, resistance remains against selling at current high prices.
2. Demand Side: A high proportion of domestic capacity integrates cyclohexanone with caprolactam production, ensuring sufficient raw material self-sufficiency for caprolactam enterprises. Order momentum from the chemical fiber sector remains weak, while solvent users continue to procure strictly based on immediate needs, resulting in overall sluggish demand performance.
3. Cost Side: Post-holiday port inventories of pure benzene remain at historic lows, maintaining a tight pattern in spot circulation. Short-covering demands related to month-end deliveries at the end of October are expected to support spot prices. It is projected that East China pure benzene prices will open low but trend upward next week.

In summary, cost support for cyclohexanone persists, and the market remains in a state of weak supply-demand equilibrium. In the short term, market movements are expected to follow feedstock trends within a fluctuating range.