What is driving cracked C5 residue pricing and supply in China's market?

What is driving cracked C5 residue pricing and supply in China's market?
Cracked C5 residue sits at the volatile intersection of ethylene economics and downstream resin demand. In early 2022, northern China C5 prices climbed from 4,700 yuan/t to 6,600 yuan/t, a 40% jump, while C5 petroleum resin for road-marking paint rose only 27.7%. Because resin yield is just 40-50%, and co-products like DCPD ran at a loss, producers saw gross margins turn negative at 1-5% and cut operating rates to 60-70%. Feedstock naphtha costs, themselves tied to crude, squeeze ethylene margins and push up residue prices. Private northern ethylene plants even bid C5 up toward 8,000 yuan/t, far above Sinopec and PetroChina levels, leaving external buyers short.