[Weekly PC Review] Supply Continues To Rebound, Demand Follows Weakly, Market Continues To Bottom Out

1. Market Conditions and Profitability: This week, the PC market prices continued to decline, while the cost of bisphenol A remained stable. The mismatch between costs and selling prices persists, leading to a further contraction in overall industry profitability and increasing operational pressures.

2. Supply-side changes: Covestro’s PC unit has been running steadily after its restart, while industry operating rates have continued to rise. Capacity utilization increased further month-on-month, and market supply has steadily grown.

3. Diverging trends across product categories: The domestic PC market as a whole remained on a downward trajectory, with phosgene-process PC experiencing a particularly pronounced and wide-ranging decline, while price differentials among product categories continued to adjust.

During the current period (June 12, 2026–June 18, 2026), the domestic PC market continued its weak downward trend, with prices under pressure throughout the week. As of the close on June 18, mainstream negotiated prices for domestic PC in China were in the range of RMB 11,850–13,400/ton, down RMB 150–900/ton from the previous week, representing an overall decline of 1.25%–6.29% week on week.

During the week, domestic PC producers showed a differentiated pricing pattern. Some manufacturers kept their quotes steady, while most companies lowered ex-factory prices by RMB 200-900/ton; among them, phosgene-process PC prices saw a particularly significant decline. During the week, Zhejiang Petrochemical’s auction prices opened low and remained weak; the average price across three rounds fell by RMB 100/ton compared with the previous week, further dampening overall market expectations and driving pessimism in the spot market. Regional markets also weakened in tandem, with spot prices in East China and South China continuing to decline. Prices of mainstream grades in South China fell far more than those in East China, showing clear regional divergence.

Trends on the feedstock side diverged significantly. This week, Brent crude oil plunged by 14.55%, driving sharp declines in upstream raw materials such as phenol and shifting the overall cost center of the industrial chain lower. The core raw material bisphenol A held steady, but the price spread between PC and bisphenol A remained at a high level, and stable costs failed to provide effective support for the continuously weakening PC prices. On the supply side, previously shut-down units were restarted in succession, Covestro’s units operated steadily, and the industry’s capacity utilization rate rose steadily, leaving market supply persistently ample. Demand remained sluggish, with downstream end-user orders weak. Coupled with widespread bearish sentiment toward the outlook, downstream enterprises purchased only as needed and stayed cautious on the sidelines, showing little willingness to proactively restock. Overall trading sentiment was subdued. Under the combined pressure of multiple bearish factors, the PC market continued to probe lower this week.