Chemical Market Weekly | Oct 5, 2026: Pure Benzene +6.3%, New Hazardous Chemical Standards in Force, Global Chemical Shipping Down 15% YoY

Lead: Domestic bulk chemical prices strengthened overall, led by pure benzene and glacial acetic acid; overseas chemical trade volumes fell and Asian demand softened; three mandatory safety standards for hazardous chemicals took effect; several new-material plants started up. Sector-by-sector briefing below.

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### 1. Domestic market: bulk chemical prices strengthened

Pure benzene and glacial acetic acid led the weekly chemical gains. Monitoring by Zhuochuang Information shows that during the week of Sep 27 – Oct 3, 2026, the average pure benzene price rose from RMB 9,806.75/ton to RMB 10,424.17/ton, up 6.3% week-on-week; glacial acetic acid rose from RMB 4,516.33/ton to RMB 4,710/ton, up 4.29%. Source: Zhuochuang Information

Week 39 bulk chemical ranking: 57 products rose. According to price monitoring by Business Society (100ppi), in Week 39 of 2026 (Sep 28 – Oct 2), 57 products rose in the trading price list; 56 products in the chemical sector rose week-on-week, with the overall price center shifting upward. Source: Business Society (100ppi)

Oct 4 daily gainers: some products rose more than 10% in a single day. Business Society (100ppi) chemical channel data shows that on Oct 4, the average price of diethylene glycol monobutyl ether was RMB 11,737.50/ton, up 12.97% over seven days; m-toluidine averaged RMB 12,333.33/ton, up 12.12%; dichloromethane averaged RMB 2,927.50/ton, up 10.37%. Source: Business Society (100ppi)

### 2. Overseas markets: trade volumes fell, regional demand diverged

Global chemical shipping volumes fell 15% year-on-year; cautious trade outlook. Chemical Week reports Stolt-Nielsen said current global chemical shipping volumes are about 15% lower than a year earlier, with limited trade visibility and rising wait-and-see sentiment. Source: Chemical Week

Asian petrochemical demand may soften after the holiday; Middle East sulfur prices cut. ICIS analysis expects Asian petrochemical demand to stay weak after China's National Day holiday, with high feedstock and freight costs continuing to squeeze downstream margins; ICIS data also shows QatarEnergy lowered its October sulfur contract price by USD 45/ton versus September. Source: ICIS

Six Korean petrochemical companies and 37 individuals indicted. According to ICIS, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office on Oct 1 indicted six petrochemical companies — LG Chem, PKC, OCI, Aekyung Chemical, Lotte Fine Chemical and Unid — and 37 current and former executives, alleging price collusion on eight product categories including PVC from Jan 2021 to Apr 2026, involving about KRW 16.4 trillion (about USD 12.2 billion), South Korea's largest cartel case to date. Source: ICIS

Evonik's Slovakian biotech expansion project breaks ground. Chemical Engineering reports that Evonik has broken ground on its biotechnology expansion at the Fermas site in Slovakia, part of an investment of about EUR 80 million, adding downstream fermentation capacity for development and production of complex pharmaceutical intermediates, expected to complete in early 2028. Source: Chemical Engineering

### 3. Policy and standards: safety and energy storage advanced in parallel

Three mandatory hazardous chemical safety standards take effect. According to the Ministry of Emergency Management announcement, three mandatory industry standards including AQ 3026—2026 "Safety Specification for Equipment Maintenance Operations in Chemical Enterprises" officially took effect; among them, the "Criteria for Determining Major Production Safety Hazards in Chemical and Hazardous Chemicals Production and Operation Enterprises" systematically defines 53 major hazard determination scenarios covering personnel, processes, equipment and operations. Source: National Public Service Platform for Standards Information

Clear targets for new-type energy storage in the 15th Five-Year Plan. The "15th Five-Year Plan for Building a New Power System" issued by the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration proposes adding about 160 GW of new-type energy storage nationwide during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, reaching 300 GW by 2030. As of the end of June 2026, China had built and operated 153 GW of new-type energy storage, up 61% year-on-year. Source: National Energy Administration

### 4. Projects and technology: multiple new-material plants started up

Huadian Yingkou wind-hydrogen-ammonia port integration project starts. The project integrates wind-power hydrogen production, synthetic ammonia and port storage/transport in one layout, a demonstration of cross-industry integration between chemicals and new energy. Source: China Chemical Industry News

Multiple new-material plants started up: HEV, H-POE and a dry-mix cement station. Jiangsu Hongjing's 100,000 t/y high-end hot-melt grade ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (HEV) plant completed its full process and succeeded on first feed; Xingchuan New Material's 10,000-tonne-class hyperbranched polyolefin elastomer (H-POE) plant started up successfully on the first attempt, achieving large-scale production of high-end polyolefin elastomers via single-ethylene homopolymerization; Northwest Oilfield's Xinjiang Kuqa cement dry-mix station Phase I was completed and put into operation, the largest intelligent cement dry-mix station in China. Source: China Chemical Industry News

### 5. Energy and downstream: clear shift in demand structure

Highway charging volume on the first National Day holiday day rose 60.4% year-on-year. National Energy Administration data shows highway charging volume nationwide rose 60.4% year-on-year on the first day of the National Day holiday, with new-energy vehicle travel penetration continuing to rise, providing long-term support for demand for chemical materials (battery materials, lightweight materials). Source: National Energy Administration

Dairy "temperature gap": milk prices fall while whey protein prices double. Yicai reports that raw milk prices are running low and terminal milk is being discounted; meanwhile high-value ingredients such as whey protein and lactoferrin have doubled in price due to tight supply. Feihe's deep-processing bases in Heilongjiang, Inner Mongolia and Ningxia are expected to be fully operational by August 2026, with daily processing capacity of up to 3,000 tons, focusing on high-value-added dairy ingredients. Source: Yicai

Chifeng issues new food production license review rules. The Chifeng Municipal Market Supervision Administration has formulated new rules for food production license review plans, further standardizing on-site review and judgment criteria for food production licensing, covering production-condition verification for dairy, beverage and other processing enterprises. Source: Foodmate

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Further reading: - Chemical Equipment Turnkey Model: How a Complete Line Goes from Design to Commissioning - Selection of Mixing Equipment for High-Viscosity Materials