Shenhua Auction: Buyers stepped up hand-to-mouth purchases, but futures jitters capped the enthusiasm

insight 03 Apr 2025

The Shenhua Auction Platform saw improved sales from the previous session, driven by stronger hand-to-mouth purchasing in both the LLDPE and PP segments. However, bids were noticeably more cautious, reflecting the softness on the Dalian Commodity Exchange.

Shenhua Baotou Coal Chemical Co., China’s largest coal-based petrochemical producer, concluded its auction on 03 April 2025, with the results for prime grades as follows:

Product	Auction Volume	Deal Volume	Auction Prices		Deal Prices		Deal %
Product	Auction Volume	Deal Volume	CNY/ton	USD/ton	CNY/ton	USD/ton	Deal %
*Combined and reported by CommoPlast*
PPH Yarn	1150	1150	7050	$856	7060-7350	$857-892	100.0%
PPH Inj	169	68	7050	$856	7050	$856	40.2%
PPBC Inj	100	100	7700	$935	7790-7810	$946-9488	100.0%
LL Film	800	699	7700	$935	7700-7770	$935-943	87.4%
Auction and Deal volumes are in tonnage All USD equivalent prices only exclude the 13% value-added tax (VAT). They have not taken into account other costs that might incur in the selling process, i.e. import duty, customs clearances.

Auction platform: https://www.e-chnenergy.com

Auction time: Monday – Friday, 10 AM – 12 PM

Key takeaways:

The uptake of LLDPE film cargoes exemplified the session’s robust drawdowns, surging from 49.7% in the previous session to 87.4%. At the same time, deal prices were notably lower, with higher-end transactions settling at a CNY30/ton reduction.

“Today’s auction reflected buyers’ efforts to balance immediate procurement needs with a cautious macroeconomic outlook,” one market participant noted. “A key development under watch has been the US government’s sweeping reciprocal tariffs, including a 34% hike on China that will move into full effect on the 9th.”

Written by: Kat Yun Yun

Edited by: Derek Yong

Country
China