July 6, 2023
In the first half of the year, the PE pipe market generally fluctuated and then rose in a narrow range. The main factors of price fluctuations revolved around the reality of high demand but poor actual recovery and short-term changes in supply and demand. In the second half of the year, the upward movement of crude oil may drive the strength of raw materials such as light hydrocarbons, and the maintenance of the supply side will weaken. At the same time, new production capacity will still be released. It is expected that the supply will increase significantly in the second half of the year. However, considering the seasonality of demand, it is expected that PE pipes will be under pressure again after a narrow upward trend in the second half of the year.
In the first half of 2023, the market price of PE-grade pipes generally fluctuated and then rose in a narrow range. The overall fluctuation range narrowed, and the monthly average price was lower than that of the same period in 2022. The trend is slightly different from the trend predicted in our "2022-2023 China Polyolefin Pipe Market Annual Report". The main factors driving price fluctuations in the first half of 2023 revolve around the reality of high demand but poor actual recovery and short-term supply and demand changes run. From January to April, under the influence of high expectations and regional supply-demand mismatches, the price fluctuated and rose slightly. In mid-April, it reached a high of 8,525 yuan/ton in the first half of the year. In the later period, the reality of demand was not as good as expected, and under the concentrated release of new production capacity and output , the supply pressure increased, and the price fluctuated and weakened, falling to the low of 8,100 yuan/ton in the first half of the year in early June.
