Chemical Prices Today (October 14, 2026): Daily Market Trends & Price Changes

Basic chemicals saw 20 of 57 tracked products move, and for the first time this week the split was exactly even — 10 higher and 10 lower. That even balance is itself the news: it marks the end of the one-way supply-led correction that dominated October 12 and 13. The gains were led by Methanol up 3.01% to CNY 4,000/ton, Nickel up 2.67% to CNY 120,700/ton, Chloroform up 2.65% to CNY 2,600/ton, Borax up 1.51% to CNY 6,740/ton, Benzene up 0.64% to CNY 10,568/ton, EVA up 0.59% to CNY 11,400/ton, Phosphoric Acid up 0.30% to CNY 8,400/ton, sodium acetate up 0.25% to CNY 5,643/ton, White phosphorus up 0.24% to CNY 28,463/ton and Ethylene glycol up 0.15% to CNY 5,992/ton. The declines were led by Lithium carbonate down 3.60% to CNY 107,000/ton, Formaldehyde down 2.41% to CNY 1,903/ton, Propylene glycol down 1.69% to CNY 9,667/ton, Cobalt down 1.15% to CNY 257,700/ton, Potassium chloride down 0.52% to CNY 3,283/ton, Acetone down 0.29% to CNY 8,613/ton, Heptane down 0.24% to CNY 16,360/ton, ethyl acetate down 0.22% to CNY 7,257/ton, Sulfur down 0.17% to CNY 7,167/ton and Phenol down 0.14% to CNY 9,400/ton.

Methanol produced the day's most important genuine move, rising 3.01% to CNY 4,000/ton and ending a two-session collapse that had removed 19.9% from the October 9 peak of CNY 4,847/ton. The 生意社 benchmark moved from CNY 3,883.33 to CNY 4,000.00 a ton, a gain of exactly 3.00%, and the same day's methanol chain intelligence reported physical buying returning on a cost basis after the aggressive markdowns of the preceding sessions. This does not invalidate yesterday's analysis, and the caution we gave then still stands in modified form. What has changed is that the physical market has found a level at which buyers will engage: the two-session fall was a squeeze unwinding, not a structural decline in demand, and once the October premium was fully given back the bid reappeared almost immediately. The level remains 14.40% lower on the week, so this is a stabilisation within a downtrend rather than a reversal. The distinction matters for procurement: the case for waiting for a deeper markdown is now weaker than it was on Tuesday, and buyers with genuine fourth-quarter requirements should treat CNY 4,000/ton as a defensible entry rather than an obvious trap, while still keeping volumes short-dated because the week remains deeply negative.

Formaldehyde fell 2.41% to CNY 1,903/ton, and this is methanol's earlier weakness arriving late. The 生意社 assessment published on October 14 described the first half of October as a “first strong, then weak” pattern in which prices followed September's rally to a near-record high before turning down as feedstock methanol retreated and downstream buyers balked at the level. The Shandong average was put at CNY 1,902/ton, up 7.03% on the month and 83.37% on the year, and described as a five-year high. The mechanism is textbook cost-push exhaustion: formaldehyde's 9–10 October rally was driven entirely by methanol's cost, and when that cost fell, factory offers followed. What limits the downside is that the physical crack remains deeply negative for producers — methanol at CNY 4,000/ton leaves formaldehyde makers under water — so the published outlook is for high-level consolidation with a slight downward bias rather than a severe fall. Note the direction asymmetry for readers: formaldehyde is now falling while methanol is rising, which is the signature of a margin-squeezed intermediate rather than a demand event.

Propylene glycol fell 1.69% to CNY 9,667/ton and the published analysis is explicit that this is the demand side failing to confirm a cost-led rise. The Shandong production average was reported at CNY 9,666/ton, unchanged on the month, with the run-up in early October attributed entirely to propylene oxide, which itself rose more than 7% after the holiday on higher propylene and liquid chlorine. The October 14 assessment described the move as cost-driven rather than demand-driven, and forecast a slight downward bias with a cost floor. The three demand channels all disappointed: unsaturated polyester resin operating rates stayed low with weak construction and fibreglass orders, antifreeze stocking had not yet started in the north despite the seasonal turn, and daily-chemical, pharmaceutical and food-grade demand was flat. With maintenance units returning and trader inventories building, supply has shifted from tight to comfortably adequate. Cobalt eased 1.15% to CNY 257,700/ton, its third consecutive decline, with cobalt oxide described as thinly traded and MB cobalt assessments stable-to-soft. Lithium carbonate slid a further 3.60% to CNY 107,000/ton, the eleventh consecutive decline, and this one has a genuine fundamental explanation rather than a technical one: the industrial grade fell 2.78% to CNY 105,000/ton, the battery-grade futures contract LC2701 closed at CNY 100,900/ton, and the market is now trading an explicit 2027 supply-surplus expectation rather than near-term physical tightness. Spot inventories have actually been drawing down — 27,720 tonnes across 207 samples and 17,378 tonnes on the exchange warrant measure — which is why the price is falling into a physical deficit: the forward market, not the spot market, is setting the level. Two downstream material makers have now disclosed hedging losses, so the pain is spreading down the chain.

Nickel rose 2.67% to CNY 120,700/ton and the move sits on a genuine and unusually clean split in the underlying market. The Yangtze River spot 1# nickel average was reported at CNY 120,700/ton, up CNY 300 on the day within a CNY 118,500–122,900 range, while the Shanghai 2611 contract barely moved at CNY 118,530/ton — which pushed the spot premium over futures out to about CNY 2,170/ton. The split beneath that is the real signal: refined nickel firmed on physical tightness while nickel salts weakened, with nickel sulfate down CNY 100 to CNY 31,100/ton and nickel chloride down CNY 500 to CNY 38,000/ton, as stainless producers pushed back on raw-material costs and battery makers stayed on long-term contracts rather than buying spot. On the same day the International Nickel Study Group revised its 2026 balance from deficit to small surplus and projected a wider surplus in 2027. The result is a market with a firm near month and a soft far curve, and readers should expect that tension to resolve rather than persist. Chloroform extended its advance by 2.65% to CNY 2,600/ton, following Tuesday's 4.83% gain, and this one is confirmed all the way down to producer level: Shandong Jinling raised its Dongying and Da Wang plant prices by CNY 100/ton to CNY 2,600/ton, and Dongying Huatai raised its price by CNY 200/ton to CNY 2,700/ton, both on a cash ex-works basis. Borax added 1.51% to CNY 6,740/ton, and Benzene rose 0.64% to CNY 10,568/ton with the 生意社 pure benzene benchmark at CNY 10,567.67/ton, up 0.63% and now 89.54% above the year-earlier level. Among the unchanged lines, Acetic acid held at CNY 4,860/ton, Caustic Soda at CNY 633/ton, Ethylene Oxide at CNY 9,700/ton, Sulfuric acid at CNY 1,678/ton and boric acid at CNY 11,600/ton.

The overall read for Basic Chemicals is that the supply-led correction has reached its floor and the market has rotated into a two-sided, stock-specific phase. Three things support that conclusion. Methanol, the product that led the whole complex down, has found a bid and risen. The number of movers has fallen from 23 to 20 while the up/down split has gone from 7/16 to 10/10. And the remaining declines — formaldehyde, propylene glycol, dimethyl carbonate — are now cleanly attributable to individual cost or demand stories rather than to a generalised squeeze. The odd one out is lithium, where the decline is accelerating on a forward-market thesis rather than a physical one, and where the spot market is tightening while the price falls; that divergence is the single most interesting anomaly in the basic segment and the one to watch into November.

Fine chemicals tracked 27 products of which 5 moved, 2 higher and 3 lower — but four of the five are dominated by returning-line effects. Potassium sorbate shows plus 32.45% to CNY 20,000/ton and Silver iodide shows minus 25.02% to CNY 1,804/kg, both re-basing artefacts addressed in the cards above. Tetrahydrofuran fell 13.56% to CNY 17,000/ton, a third returning-line effect explained below. The only two clean, quotable moves in the segment are sodium acetate up 0.25% to CNY 5,643/ton and Sodium metabisulfite down 0.08% to CNY 3,900/ton — which is to say that the specialty book barely moved at all once the artefacts are stripped out.

Tetrahydrofuran fell 13.56% to CNY 17,000/ton from CNY 19,667/ton, and it belongs in the same family as silver iodide and mineral oil. The line has been in and out of the basket for a month, and its history shows why the percentage is unreliable: it was tracked at around CNY 17,000–17,250/ton at the end of September, was absent in early October, reappeared at CNY 19,000/ton on October 9 and CNY 19,500/ton on October 10, was absent again on October 12, returned at CNY 19,667/ton on October 13, and now prints CNY 17,000/ton. Read as a continuous series that looks violent; read correctly, today's reading is simply a return to the late-September reference of about CNY 17,000/ton, and the October excursion above CNY 19,000 was the anomaly. THF's own wider market is worth noting for context: the 生意社 benchmark was assessed at CNY 11,800/ton on October 9 and moved up to CNY 12,650/ton on October 12, a 7.20% step, so the broad market did firm in early October on BDO and PTMEG support before the tracked line gave the gain back. The practical conclusion is that none of the three largest fine-chemical moves today reflects a same-day trade, and the segment should be read as flat rather than volatile.

On the substantive side, the food-additive complex is the part of this segment worth watching. Potassium sorbate returned to the basket at a higher reference than the one recorded in September, which is consistent with a firmer preservative market, even though the 32.45% figure is not usable; chemical-book listings on October 14 showed food-grade potassium sorbate offers of CNY 5,900–6,200 for reagent-scale packaging and CNY 35–40/kg in bulk retail, both at the high end of recent ranges, and food-additive buying is seasonally supported into the fourth quarter. Sodium acetate edged up 0.25% to CNY 5,643/ton and is now 1.39% higher on the week, tracking the broader acetate complex, while Sodium metabisulfite slipped 0.08% to CNY 3,900/ton. The returning lines otherwise opened flat and should be treated as indicative only: Alkaline Phosphatase, antifreeze, Metronidazole, Petroleum, Quartz and tranexamic acid are all new to the basket this edition, and Benzyl alcohol, Castor oil, Citric acid, dimethyl carbonate, Dimethyl sulfoxide, Ferric chloride, glycolic acid, Hydroquinone, Lactic acid, Melamine, Oleic acid, Potassium permanganate, Sodium hypochlorite, Triclopyr, chlorine tablets and Water softener salt were unchanged.

The practical message for fine-chemicals buyers is that the specialty book is quiet and can be left alone. With 22 of 27 lines unmoved and the three large prints all explained by basket mechanics, there is no action to take and no urgency anywhere in the segment. The one thing worth pressing suppliers on is the food-additive reference level, because the potassium sorbate reset — artefact or not — probably signals that contract prices for the fourth quarter will be settled above where they stood in September. Buyers with first-quarter 2027 requirements in preservatives should start that conversation now rather than after the January reset.

Energy, Rubber, Plastic and other chemicals tracked 12 products, of which 5 moved — 3 higher and 2 lower. HDPE added 1.35% to CNY 11,238/ton, kerosene gained 1.18% to CNY 8,600/ton and ABS rose 0.42% to CNY 12,067/ton, while Asphalt eased 0.91% to CNY 6,183/ton and Gasoline slipped 0.12% to CNY 10,002/ton. WTI Crude Oil at USD 94/barrel, Anthracite at CNY 1,575/ton, Carbon at CNY 12,500/ton, Carbon Black at CNY 10,807/ton, Silica at CNY 6,400/ton, Basalt at CNY 650/ton and Poly(vinyl acetate) at CNY 12/kg were unchanged after the basket expansion brought anthracite and kerosene back into coverage.

WTI Crude Oil was marked unchanged at USD 94/barrel in the tracked basket, but the physical settlements tell a more interesting story of divergence. November WTI settled at USD 94.14 a barrel, up 40 cents or 0.43%, while December Brent settled at USD 105.69, down 96 cents or 0.90% — and for the first time this week the two benchmark directions genuinely disagreed. The session was described by traders as one of profit-taking after a three-session run, with no decisive new development to trade on. The bullish case remains intact and is arguably stronger than on Tuesday: Saudi Arabia intercepted further Houthi missiles and drones in a second consecutive day of attacks, Iranian attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz have increased sharply and are now threatening the recent recovery in Persian Gulf exports, and Russian crude exports fell again as a key Black Sea port slowed operations on security concerns. The bearish case rests on the Russian diesel agreement announced by President Trump, which traders openly distrust; the same reporting noted that the accompanying energy ceasefire appears to have surprised both Moscow and Kyiv, and that President Trump himself conceded on Monday that neither side had actually committed to halting strikes on the other's energy infrastructure. Crude is now holding above USD 94 a barrel on a geopolitical premium that has not been paid for by any physical shortage, which is why the front month chops while the forward curve stays bid. For chemical buyers, the implication is that feedstock costs stay elevated without rising, which is exactly the environment that squeezes intermediates like formaldehyde hardest.

PVC produced the segment's most notable underlying move, and it deserves attention even though the tracked line was unchanged. The 生意社 benchmark jumped 2.16% to CNY 4,868/ton from CNY 4,765/ton, the largest single-day gain in the rubber-and-plastics board and enough to make PVC the third-best performer across all commodities that day. The physical market confirms it: the Hebei-based calcium-carbide route PVC average rose CNY 49/ton to CNY 4,603/ton, and Hangzhou spot prices for the carbide-route five-type material sat at CNY 4,820–4,900/ton, with producers lifting offers by CNY 10–100/ton. The driver is supply, not demand: the week's operating rate was 64.5%, up a percentage point, but a heavier October maintenance schedule on the carbide route is now starting to bite while ethylene-route units remain unrestarted, and producers such as Jintai, Zhongtai and Shihua have lifted loads. One honest caveat from the published analysis: the cost side is weakening, not strengthening — semi-coke and calcium carbide prices fell after the holiday, cutting the external carbide-route balanced cost to CNY 5,250/ton and reducing producer losses, which removes an argument for the rally lasting. Inventory is the swing factor, with all-channel industrial stock at 1.194 million tonnes, up 89,000 tonnes on the holiday and returning to early-September levels. HDPE added 1.35% to CNY 11,238/ton and is 4.91% higher on the week; the wider polyolefin board was broadly positive, with LLDPE up 0.39% to CNY 9,988.33/ton, PP raffia up 0.69% to CNY 10,656.67/ton, and EPS leading at plus 2.01%.

Overall, the Energy, Rubber, Plastic and other chemicals segment is now the most constructive part of the basket and the least complicated. Chemical demand is strengthening across the polymer complex on a mixture of producer discipline and genuine supply tightening rather than on a cost squeeze: PVC is up on maintenance, HDPE and ABS are up on producer action, and kerosene is up with the crude complex. The one soft spot is asphalt, down 0.91% to CNY 6,183/ton, with the 生意社 assessment at CNY 6,182.50/ton — and even there the year-on-year gain is 75.81%, so the weakness is a seasonal construction-cycle give-back rather than a break. The one open question is how long the PVC rally can run without cost support: calcium carbide and semi-coke are falling, which is precisely the wrong direction for a sustained carbide-route advance, and the first weekly stock draw will be the test. For buyers, the sensible posture has not changed — lock contract volumes on the grades where producer discipline is documented and supply is genuinely tightening, and stay price-flexible on the grades whose only support is a feedstock that is itself rolling over.