What is driving the recent surge in China's bisphenol A prices?

China's BPA market has shown sharp volatility, with prices spiking over 24% in just five days in January following an unplanned outage at Sinopec Mitsui's 120,000 t/y plant due to a power trip. This mirrors the late-2020 rally when prices hit 19,700 yuan/t, driven by wind power resin demand and a force majeure at LG Chem's Yeosu facility. The current rebound is amplified by traders who had been selling at a loss, creating tight supply when downstream buyers returned. However, the market remains structurally challenged—China's capacity expansion continues, with major producers like Sinopec Mitsui and Nantong Starsky adding supply, while downstream epoxy resin and polycarbonate demand growth has been uneven, keeping margins thin.