Chemical Market Weekly | 2026-10-12: Post-Holiday Chemical Futures Rally Led by Methanol Up Over 7%, Oil Prices Stay High, Lianyungang Petrochemical Expands with RMB 8.85 Billion Investment

This week, the domestic chemical market warmed up notably in the first trading week after the National Day holiday: futures rallied broadly with methanol leading gains of over 7%, sulfuric acid spot prices held steady, international oil prices stayed high and supported the cost side, and Lianyungang Petrochemical's RMB 8.85 billion expansion signaled downstream equipment demand. For chemical equipment buyers, raw material price trends and new capacity rollouts are two windows for judging equipment selection pace — when prices rise, refining and downstream operating rates tend to climb, and inquiries and replacement demand for jacket reactors and storage tanks usually come earlier. This article reviews the week's developments in five sections — domestic market, spot prices, international oil prices, overseas markets and project updates — each item with a traceable source link.

Domestic chemical market: broad futures rally after the holiday, methanol up over 7%

### Methanol gains over 7% to lead the rally; coking coal, plastics and pure benzene follow

The chemical segment of domestic commodity futures strengthened broadly after the holiday. At the close on October 9, the methanol main contract rose over 7% to lead the market, coking coal gained about 4%, plastics and polypropylene rose about 3%, and pure benzene and coke gained about 2%; ethylene glycol and Shanghai tin fell about 4%, with notable divergence within the segment. Pre-holiday stocking combined with post-holiday restocking drove the broad rally. Source: Eastmoney

### Methanol closes at RMB 3,835; 39 contracts up, 20 down

Futures closing data showed methanol closing at RMB 3,835, up 7.48%, with settlement at RMB 3,568; coking coal rose 4.30% and LPG rose 3.95%. On the day, 39 contracts closed higher and 20 closed lower, with total volume of 2.919 million lots, showing markedly higher participation than before the holiday. Source: JRJ

Domestic spot: national sulfuric acid price at RMB 1,777/ton

The latest monitoring data from the Ministry of Commerce showed the national sulfuric acid price at RMB 1,777 per ton. Sulfuric acid is a key cost item in the phosphorus chemical, titanium dioxide and fertilizer chains; a steady price helps downstream maintain operating rates and provides a stable basis for related storage and reactor equipment purchasing plans. Source: Ministry of Commerce

International oil prices and overseas markets: crude stays high, US Gulf aromatics pricing under pressure

### Oil prices edge up; WTI at USD 91.85, Brent at USD 104.72

According to Xinhua News from New York, international oil prices edged up on October 9: the WTI November contract settled at USD 91.85/barrel, up 0.39%, and Brent December at USD 104.72/barrel, up 0.42%. Crude staying high is the most important cost-side support for global chemicals this week, and cost pass-through in refining and aromatics chains will keep influencing downstream pricing. Source: Xinhua

### US Gulf aromatics: October benzene settlement pending, derivatives pricing under pressure

The US Gulf aromatics market is in a negotiation phase this week: the October benzene settlement price has not been finalized, demand for high-octane components keeps diverting aromatics supply, and downstream derivatives such as styrene face pricing pressure. For domestic downstream players with high import dependence, the direction of the Gulf settlement and shipping schedules are worth tracking closely. Source: Chemical Week

Europe: LDPE spot up USD 85/ton; ethylene contract at EUR 1,555/ton

European polyethylene spot strengthened notably this week: LDPE spot rose USD 85/ton to USD 1,150-1,160/ton, and the October ethylene contract price stood at EUR 1,555/ton. Plant turnarounds combined with logistics constraints from low Rhine water levels are the main reasons for tight supply in Europe. Source: Polymerupdate

Asia: high crude lifts PP/PE cost expectations

Asian polyolefins were supported by high crude this week: PP and PE cost bases moved up, market expectations for October prices turned stronger, the Northeast Asia-Southeast Asia spread narrowed, and trader wait-and-see sentiment eased. Cost-driven increases put some pressure on downstream converters' purchasing pace. Source: kanetora.vn

Project updates: Lianyungang Petrochemical expands with RMB 8.85 billion; 260,000-ton aromatics project to start in late October

Lianyungang Petrochemical plans to expand with an RMB 8.85 billion investment: a 260,000-ton/year aromatics combined processing project is scheduled to start up on October 30, 2026, and another RMB 7.82 billion will go to a high-end new materials project expected to start before August 30, 2027. The dense rollout of aromatics and new materials projects will drive supporting demand for mixing tanks and complete turnkey lines, and the start-up windows are key references for equipment purchasing schedules. Source: Sohu

Summary: how do the rally and project rollouts affect equipment purchasing pace?

Taken together, domestic futures gains and high crude jointly support chemical price expectations, major projects such as Lianyungang Petrochemical are entering start-up windows, and equipment replacement and supporting demand from refining and new materials downstream are likely to release earlier. For buyers, we suggest scheduling against raw material price trends, project start-up timing and your own capacity plans together: lock in production slots for long-cycle equipment early in an upward cycle to avoid delivery congestion at peak start-up periods. Equipment selection should still follow process and materials, with non-standard customization and complete-line capability as comparison priorities; delivery and commissioning slots should be confirmed together with the technical agreement.

Further reading: - Chemical Market Weekly | 2026-10-11 - Chemical Market Weekly | 2026-10-09

This article is compiled by Hyline Shengda Equipment Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (hyline.cn); the information belongs to the original authors. We specialize in stainless steel reactors, mixing tanks, storage tanks, dispersers, concentrators and complete chemical line support, with non-standard customization available.