MTBE industry profit margin may continue to narrow

The price of raw materials has risen sharply

Into April, the methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) market still showed no signs of rising

"Sufficient supply and tepid demand put pressure on the MTBE market, and raw material prices have risen to varying degrees.

The price has pulled back sharply

In the first ten days of March, the price of MTBE began to pull back sharply after it hit a high.

"The sharp rise in MTBE prices in the early stage was due to the tension between Russia and Ukraine, which caused the international oil price to rise above US$120/barrel, which raised production costs.

In addition, the increase in the supply side is also one of the factors for the decline in MTBE prices

"In April, the facilities of Chengtai New Materials, Minghao Chemical and Debao Road will be restarted due to the epidemic, and Shenchi Chemical also has plans to resume work.

Inability to lift demand

From the downstream point of view, in March, due to the impact of the epidemic, gasoline demand fell sharply, and refineries continued to reduce prices and volume; diesel demand was acceptable, and the impact of the epidemic was relatively small.

　　According to preliminary estimates, the maintenance loss of atmospheric and vacuum equipment in April will reach 5.

　　"Affected by seasonal factors such as spring ploughing and increased travel in April in previous years, gasoline and diesel consumption will increase significantly

　　In addition, the restriction on the export quota of refined oil products in 2022 determines that the export volume cannot increase significantly.

　　From the perspective of another downstream high-purity isobutene market, although the downstream demand has increased, the current high-purity isobutene price has risen sharply by 1100~1200 yuan compared with February

　　Cost pressure is on the rise

　　MTBE prices are falling, while raw materials are rising to varying degrees, and the production pressure of MTBE factories is highlighted

　　According to Zhang Yonghao, an analyst at Zhongyu Information, since March, the price of MTBE raw materials has risen to varying degrees

　　MTBE factory cost pressure is highlighted

　　Zhang Yonghao and other market participants believe that after the high point of the C-4 market, after the adjustment of profits, it has successfully attracted the downstream to enter the market for replenishment, and the output of refineries has improved significantly

　　On the whole, it is extremely unlikely that the prices of various raw materials will drop significantly, the cost pressure of the MTBE industry is still difficult to alleviate, and the profit margin may continue to narrow