Daily Chemical Market Price Overview — August 5, 2026
The latest daily chemical price update highlights key movements across major sectors including
Basic Chemicals,
Fine Chemicals,
Energy, and
Plastics. This report summarizes daily, weekly, and monthly price fluctuations to help manufacturers, traders, and procurement professionals better track short-term market volatility and broader pricing trends across the chemical supply chain.
Market focus today centered on sharp volatility in specialty chemicals, with
Imidazole posting the largest daily decline of 26.67%, while
Sorbitol and
Petroleum Jelly recorded strong gains amid tightening supply conditions. In the bulk chemicals segment,
Acetonitrile and
Dichloromethane advanced more than 5%, whereas
Sulfuric Acid and
Acetone faced notable selling pressure. Meanwhile, energy markets remained highly active as
WTI Crude Oil retreated 5.00%, creating mixed sentiment across downstream fuels, plastics, and petrochemical value chains.
Top Price Movers
Imidazole recorded the largest price movement across all monitored products, plunging 26.67% in a single day. The sharp correction likely reflects the normalization of prices after previous supply tightness and speculative buying activity. Despite the daily decline, weekly prices remain up 12.55%, indicating that the market had been trading at elevated levels before today's adjustment.
Sorbitol posted the strongest gain of the day, rising 16.67% amid tightening spot availability and renewed procurement from food, pharmaceutical, and personal care sectors. Although the daily rebound was substantial, monthly prices remain 2.51% lower, suggesting the market is recovering from a previously weak pricing environment rather than entering a sustained uptrend.
Petroleum Jelly (Vaseline) recorded the third-largest price movement, advancing 10.75% on the day. The increase was supported by firmer petroleum-derived feedstock costs and stable demand from cosmetics, pharmaceutical, and personal care applications. Weekly and monthly gains of 2.75% and 5.46%, respectively, indicate that the market has maintained positive momentum over recent weeks.
Price jumped 10.75% today — Supply conditions are tightening and buyers may face higher replacement costs in the near term.
Basic Chemicals Prices
| Product |
CAS |
Price (CNY/TON) |
Daily |
Weekly |
Monthly |
| Acetone prices |
67-64-1 |
6,163 |
-4.27% |
2.69% |
9.89% |
| Acetonitrile prices |
75-05-8 |
9,317 |
5.67% |
-1.37% |
0.74% |
| Ammonium sulfate prices |
7783-20-2 |
1,167 |
-4.5% |
2.95% |
-2.82% |
| Cobalt prices |
7440-48-4 |
344,500 |
-0.32% |
-0.29% |
-6.15% |
| Dichloromethane prices |
75-09-2 |
2,232 |
5.53% |
1.74% |
5.46% |
| Dysprosium prices |
7429-91-6 |
1,935,000 |
-0.51% |
0% |
0% |
| Ethyl acetate prices |
141-78-6 |
5,572 |
-2.4% |
-1.19% |
1.88% |
| Ethylene glycol prices |
107-21-1 |
5,123 |
-1.39% |
4.27% |
10.54% |
| Formaldehyde prices |
50-00-0 |
1,238 |
-1.75% |
-0.94% |
-0.47% |
| Hexane prices |
110-54-3 |
8,688 |
4.05% |
0% |
4.45% |
| Hydrogen peroxide prices |
7722-84-1 |
590 |
-2.8% |
-4.97% |
-6.72% |
| Isopropyl alcohol prices |
67-63-0 |
6,858 |
-0.55% |
-1.34% |
2.91% |
| Lithium carbonate prices |
554-13-2 |
140,000 |
0.72% |
-3.28% |
-7.7% |
| Methanol prices |
67-56-1 |
2,565 |
-1.99% |
-0.57% |
-0.76% |
| Nickel prices |
7440-02-0 |
130,800 |
-2.08% |
0.11% |
2.04% |
| Propylene prices |
115-07-1 |
8,008 |
1.06% |
0.71% |
-2.79% |
| Sodium fluoride prices |
7681-49-4 |
4,225 |
1.81% |
-0.12% |
0.6% |
| Sulfuric acid prices |
7664-93-9 |
1,945 |
-5.72% |
-0.72% |
-1.04% |
| Urea prices |
57-13-6 |
1,738 |
-0.11% |
-0.51% |
-1.52% |
| Xylene prices |
1330-20-7 |
6,500 |
0.26% |
0.51% |
5.6% |
Basic chemicals displayed a mixed performance on August 5, with
Acetonitrile,
Dichloromethane, and
Hexane posting notable daily gains of 5.67%, 5.53%, and 4.05%, respectively, supported by replenishment demand and firmer feedstock costs. In contrast,
Sulfuric Acid recorded the sharpest decline of 5.72%, while
Acetone and
Ammonium Sulfate fell 4.27% and 4.50%, reflecting persistent oversupply and cautious downstream purchasing activity.
Ethylene Glycol remained one of the strongest performers on a monthly basis, maintaining gains above 10%, whereas battery-related materials including
Lithium Carbonate and
Cobalt continued to face pressure, with monthly declines of 7.70% and 6.15%, respectively. Overall, market sentiment remained selective as buyers focused on short-term procurement while waiting for clearer signals from end-user demand recovery.
Recent market reports indicate that China's sulfuric acid market has entered a correction phase after an extended period of elevated prices, as maintenance shutdowns have gradually concluded and downstream fertilizer and chemical demand weakened, leading to widespread regional price declines. Meanwhile, international supply-chain disruptions and sulfur market volatility continue to influence chemical feedstock costs, creating divergent pricing trends across the basic chemicals sector. Against this backdrop, solvent markets such as acetone remain under pressure from sufficient supply and seasonally weak consumption, while selected specialty chemicals are benefiting from tighter spot availability and procurement-driven buying interest.
Fine Chemicals Prices
Fine chemicals market performance was highly volatile on August 5, with
Sorbitol and
Petroleum Jelly (Vaseline) recording significant daily gains of 16.67% and 10.75%, respectively, driven by supply-side adjustments and higher feedstock costs.
Melamine continued its upward trend, rising 1.39% on the day and nearly 3% month-on-month, supported by steady export demand and improved downstream panel and laminate consumption. In contrast,
Imidazole experienced a sharp correction of 26.67%, likely reflecting the normalization of previously elevated spot prices following short-term supply tightness.
PTMEG (Polytetramethylene Ether Glycol) declined 5.22% from the previous session but remained up more than 8% week-on-week and 6.66% month-on-month, indicating that the broader market remains supported by spandex feedstock demand despite recent profit-taking.
Trichloroethylene and
Potassium Citrate showed relatively stable movements, reflecting balanced supply-demand fundamentals.
Recent market developments indicate that the
PTMEG and spandex value chain
continues to receive support from stable operating rates and cautious replenishment activity across the textile sector, although short-term price fluctuations have emerged amid changing raw material costs and mixed downstream orders. Meanwhile,
Melamine
markets have benefited from favorable export economics and firmer international pricing, with several producers increasing overseas sales volumes as global supply conditions remain relatively tight. In the specialty chemicals segment, procurement activity remains selective, with buyers focusing on immediate production requirements rather than building inventories, contributing to increased day-to-day price volatility. Rising energy and petroleum-derived feedstock costs have also provided support to products such as
Petroleum Jelly
, while demand from food, pharmaceutical, and personal care applications continues to underpin consumption of
Sorbitol
and
Potassium Citrate
. Overall, the fine chemicals sector remains characterized by product-specific fundamentals, with supply availability and export demand exerting a greater influence on pricing than broad-based industrial consumption trends.
Energy and Plastics chemicals Prices
Energy and plastics markets showed divergent trends on August 5 as crude oil volatility continued to influence downstream pricing sentiment.
WTI Crude Oil posted the largest daily movement, falling 5.00% to USD 76/bbl following profit-taking and easing concerns over near-term supply disruptions. The decline in crude prices weighed on parts of the petrochemical chain, with
PVC and
ABS slipping 0.68% and 0.35%, respectively, amid cautious downstream purchasing and sufficient market inventories. Despite the sharp correction in crude oil, refined products remained relatively resilient.
Kerosene advanced 2.44% on the day, supported by seasonal transportation demand and stronger aviation fuel consumption, while
Gasoline edged up 0.15% and maintained a robust monthly gain of 6.43%. Meanwhile,
Asphalt increased slightly by 0.35%, benefiting from ongoing infrastructure and road construction demand, although weekly and monthly performance remained negative due to previous declines in feedstock costs.
Global energy markets have recently been dominated by fluctuations in crude oil prices as traders reassess supply-demand fundamentals following mixed signals from major producing countries and updated economic outlooks. While crude benchmarks have retreated from recent highs, refinery margins and transportation fuel demand have remained comparatively firm, helping support prices for products such as
Gasoline
and
Kerosene
. In China's petrochemical sector, market participants continue to monitor refinery operating rates, export quotas, and inventory levels as key indicators for near-term price direction. On the plastics side,
ABS
demand from household appliances, consumer electronics, and automotive manufacturing has shown gradual improvement, but ample supply has limited upward price momentum. Meanwhile,
PVC
markets remain under pressure from weak construction-sector demand and cautious procurement activity despite ongoing efforts to stabilize the real estate and infrastructure sectors. Overall, the energy and plastics complex remains highly sensitive to crude oil movements, with downstream products increasingly reflecting product-specific supply-demand dynamics rather than following feedstock prices in a uniform manner.
Data Source & Update Methodology
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
August 5, 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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