Chemical Prices Today (October 12, 2026): Daily Market Trends & Price Changes

Daily Chemical Market Price Overview — October 12, 2026

The methanol bubble burst. After four sessions in which the coastal squeeze dominated every headline, Methanol collapsed 12.77% to CNY 4,050/ton — erasing the entire October rally in a single weekend and returning to the level it held on September 22. It is the largest single-day decline any product has recorded in this series, and it is fully confirmed: the industry benchmark fell 14.65%, coastal assessments dropped as much as 14.29% in Fujian and 13.29% in Jiangsu, and sellers cut offers to shift cargo as downstream refused to chase. The day was otherwise balanced rather than bearish: 21 of 70 tracked products moved, 11 higher and 10 lower, the tightest balance this series has produced. Dichloromethane led the gains at +3.94% to CNY 3,295/ton on a fourth consecutive Shandong producer increase, followed by Sulfur down 2.88%, EVA up 2.72% to CNY 11,333/ton, HDPE up 2.09% to CNY 11,000/ton and Propylene up 1.99% to CNY 10,751/ton. Lithium carbonate fell a further 5.79% to CNY 114,000/ton as the futures contract broke below CNY 110,000 for the first time since December.

Four conditions defined the session. First, methanol's collapse was a reversal of positioning, not of fundamentals: coastal Fujian fell 14.29%, Jiangsu 13.29% and Ningbo 12.26% while Xinjiang, Ningxia, Yunnan-Guizhou and Sichuan-Chongqing held unchanged, and the trigger was simply that the earlier rally had run too far ahead of a downstream that never followed, with traders cutting offers to move cargo. Second, lithium broke to a new low for the year, with the main futures contract closing down 11.79% at CNY 104,740/ton on a triple blow: the European Union moved to halve Chinese hybrid-vehicle imports, domestic new-energy passenger-vehicle retail fell 16.7% year on year in September, and Beijing placed export controls on lithium batteries, LFP cathode material and artificial graphite anodes from November 8. Third, crude pushed higher, with November WTI settling up 2.06% at USD 93.74 a barrel and December Brent up 1.84% at USD 106.65, supported by continued Hormuz disruption even as Russia's diesel offer and the week's first Gulf diplomatic contact capped the move. Fourth, the tracked basket itself shrank sharply to 70 products from 125 — 55 lines were removed and none added — so all week-on-week comparisons should be treated as indicative only.

Methanol prices ↓ -12.77%

Methanol fell 12.77% to CNY 4,050/ton, the largest single-session decline recorded anywhere in this series, and the move is unambiguous rather than an artefact. The benchmark assessment fell 14.65% from CNY 4,643.33/ton to CNY 4,050.00/ton, and the regional breakdown shows a textbook positioning flush: coastal and river-port assessments led the way down with Fujian minus 14.29%, Jiangsu minus 13.29% and Ningbo minus 12.26%, while the inland production regions — Xinjiang, Ningxia, Yunnan-Guizhou and Sichuan-Chongqing — held completely unchanged, and Shanxi, Inner Mongolia and Hebei fell only marginally. The weekly change of minus 8.16% against a monthly still-positive 17.16% captures exactly what happened: the product had rallied 17% over the month to a peak of CNY 4,847/ton on October 9, and this single session removed most of that gain. The mechanism was visible in the microstructure — Inner Mongolia's Xinao offered 6,000 tonnes of high-permanganate-grade material at a CNY 3,740/ton reserve on October 10 and every lot failed to sell, which told the market that the bullish story had no bid behind it. Downstream plants did not raise operating rates, new application demand stayed flat, and buyers confined themselves to hand-to-mouth restocking while traders cut quotes to clear inventory. The tracked level of CNY 4,050/ton is now back where it sat on September 22, and with sellers still needing to shift cargo the risk remains to the downside.

Price dropped 12.77% today — the steepest fall of the series. The entire October methanol rally is gone: coastal ports fell 12–14% while inland regions held flat, and a 6,000-tonne auction at CNY 3,740/ton failed to clear. Buyers should wait for a firming signal before restocking.

Lithium carbonate prices ↓ -5.79%

Lithium carbonate fell 5.79% to CNY 114,000/ton and the futures market fell considerably harder, with the main January contract closing down 11.79% at CNY 104,740/ton — below the CNY 110,000 mark for the first time since December and a new low for the year. Spot battery-grade material was assessed at CNY 111,500–119,300/ton with a CNY 115,400/ton average, down CNY 6,950 or about 5.7% on the day, and industrial-grade lithium hydroxide fell 7.00% on the same session. Three forces collided. The European Union moved to adopt safeguard measures that would cut annual imports of Chinese hybrid vehicles by about half, from an estimated 800,000 units in 2026 to a first-year cap near 350,000 with only 6% annual growth thereafter, taking effect as early as December 1 and aimed squarely at LFP hybrids. September domestic new-energy passenger-vehicle retail fell 16.7% year on year to 1.084 million units, with the January–September total down 12.8%, which falsified the peak-season thesis. And Beijing announced export controls on lithium batteries, LFP cathode material and artificial graphite anodes effective November 8, requiring licences from the commerce ministry. On the supply side, mid-term expectations loosened further as Jiangxi's Xikeng mine received design approval for 3 million tonnes a year and the Jianxiawo project re-entered environmental review. The fall from CNY 134,000/ton on September 22 to CNY 114,000/ton today is a 14.9% decline in under three weeks and it is structural, not seasonal: the market is pricing forward supply relief against demand that is actively contracting, and the lithium rally has decisively broken.

Price dropped 5.79% today — the futures contract broke CNY 110,000 for the first time since December and hit a new low for the year. EU import curbs, a 16.7% fall in September NEV retail and new Chinese export controls all point lower.

Dichloromethane prices ↑ 3.94%

Dichloromethane rose 3.94% to CNY 3,295/ton, the largest gain of the session, and it is the fourth consecutive advance in a move that has now carried the product up 18.53% on the week and 20.57% on the month. The driver is a coordinated producer campaign rather than a speculative spike: on October 12 four separate Shandong suppliers — Dongying Huatai, Shandong Dongyue, Shandong Jinling at both its Dawang and Dongying plants, and Luxi Chemical — each raised ex-works offers by exactly CNY 250/ton to CNY 3,400/ton cash, with acceptance terms quoted CNY 20/ton higher. That kind of uniform, same-day, same-magnitude action across independent producers is the clearest possible signal of intentional offer discipline, and it is the same pattern seen in aniline and propylene this week. The board assessment for dichloromethane shows a rise of 10.85% measured from October 9 to October 12, which confirms the direction and implies the tracked daily figure understates the two-day move. The wider chloromethane complex is not participating — chloroform held at CNY 2,417/ton — so this is specific to dichloromethane, where supply is concentrated and several units have been running at reduced rates. At CNY 3,295/ton the tracked level sits below the CNY 3,400/ton producer quote, which means the physical market is already trading through the level shown here.

The above pricing data is compiled from multiple market channels including domestic ex-works quotations, distributor transaction references, port prices, and mainstream spot market assessments. Data was updated on October 12, 2026, based on the latest available trading activity and real-time market feedback collected by GuideTrends analysts and industry participants.

All prices are for reference purposes only and may vary depending on region, transaction volume, specification, and contract terms.

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