CommoPlast Article

Shenhua Baotou Coal Chemical Co., China’s largest coal-based petrochemical producer, concluded its auction on 12 May 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	1610	1360	7050	$863	7070-7320	$865-896	84.5%
PPBC Inj	583	298	6800	$832	6800-7510	$832-919	51.1%
LL Film	570	32	7110	$870	7270	$890	5.6%
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.

The auction opened the week on a mixed note. While homo-PP maintained relatively robust demand with an 84.5% deal rate, sales of LLDPE Film were notably weak despite a modest CNY 20/ton discount from the listed price. Only 5.6% of the daily allocation for LLDPE was sold.

According to market sources, the limited response to LLDPE can be attributed to more competitive pricing available in the spot market, where discounts of up to CNY 50/ton were observed. “The auction price reduction lacked impact in the current oversupplied environment. Buying sentiment remains cautious, even amid reports of progress in US-China trade negotiations,” one trader noted.

The discrepancy in performance between PP and PE grades highlights the uneven recovery in downstream demand, with converters continuing to exhibit selectivity and price sensitivity. This trend is expected to persist in the near term unless more aggressive pricing strategies are adopted.

Shenhua Auction: Minor discounts on LLDPE failed to ignite purchasing interest