PP Powder Market: Recent Commodity Market Intelligence Report

I. Price Trends
1. Latest Prices: As of May 26, 2026, the national average market price for PP powder stood at RMB 9,753.00 per metric ton, exhibiting slight fluctuation compared to the previous day. In the Nanjing region, the prevailing price range for PP powder was RMB 9,700–9,950 per metric ton, with limited trading activity.
2. Recent Volatility: Since early May, PP powder prices have displayed high-level oscillation. On May 22, market sentiment softened slightly, resulting in a sideways consolidation of prices; on May 18, external positive influences prompted an upward shift in the price center.

II. Supply-Demand Dynamics
1. Supply Side:
– Plant Utilization Rates: Affected by geopolitical conflicts and feedstock supply constraints, utilization rates of oil-based and PDH-based PP production facilities remain low. As of May 14, oil-based and PDH-based PP plant utilization rates stood at 59.42% and 52.50%, respectively—down year-on-year by 23.80 percentage points and 23.10 percentage points.
– Maintenance-Related Output Losses: From January to April 2026, cumulative maintenance-related output losses for PP amounted to 3.7799 million metric tons, representing a YoY increase of 1.4516 million metric tons—or 62.35%.
– Capacity Additions: No new PP production facilities commenced operations in the first half of 2026. Total domestic PP capacity reached 48.225 million metric tons, up 2.99% year-on-year versus 2025. Nevertheless, overall supply pressure remains modest.

2. Demand Side:
– Downstream Utilization: The plastic weaving industry—the largest end-use segment for PP powder, accounting for over 65% of total consumption—exhibited weak operating conditions. As of April 2, 2026, the nationwide integrated operating rate for the plastic weaving sector stood at only 48%, down one percentage point YoY.
– Order Intake: New order inflows remain sluggish; short-term and small-volume orders dominate the market. Plastic weaving enterprises are generally reluctant to accept long-term or large-volume orders; average new order lead time remains confined to just 3–5 days.
– Inventory Levels: On the raw material front, plastic weaving firms maintain only minimal, just-in-time procurement of PP powder; on the finished goods front, weak terminal demand has led to continuous accumulation of finished inventories, pushing the industry’s average finished-goods inventory holding period to 24 days.

III. Cost Support
1. Feedstock Prices: Propylene—the primary feedstock for PP powder—exerts significant influence on PP powder production costs. In April 2026, the domestic propylene market average price continued its upward trend, with the Shandong regional monthly average reaching RMB 9,201.33 per metric ton—a 13.02% increase month-on-month.
2. Cost Pass-Through: Sustained upward pressure on propylene prices—driven by supply contractions and geopolitical risks—has pushed many PP powder producers into losses, diminishing their willingness to offer discounts and thereby limiting downward price flexibility. Under mounting cost pressure, multiple production units have successively halted operations, keeping overall industry utilization rates at low levels.

IV. Market Analysis & Outlook
1. Short-Term Outlook: Strong supply-side support—stemming from geopolitical tensions and constrained feedstock availability—is counterbalanced by persistently weak downstream demand, preventing substantial price increases. PP powder prices are expected to remain in a high-level oscillatory pattern over the near term.
2. Medium-Term Trend: As market sensitivity to geopolitical developments wanes and new production capacity comes online in the second half of the year, the PP powder market is likely to transition into a “capacity expansion + demand weakness” pressure regime, raising downside risks to price levels.

V. Market Forecast
1. Price Forecast: For H2 2026, PP powder prices are projected to follow a “rise-then-fall” trajectory. In the short term, prices may remain range-bound at elevated levels due to ongoing geopolitical tensions and tight feedstock supply. Over the medium term, however, as markets become less reactive to geopolitical news and new capacity enters the market, price benchmarks are expected to gradually decline.
2. Risk Alerts: Key risks warranting close monitoring include renewed escalation of Middle East geopolitical tensions, rebound in international crude oil prices, pace of feedstock supply recovery, changes in plant utilization rates, and—critically—the pace and extent of downstream demand recovery, all of which could trigger significant price volatility.