China Morning Snapshot – 25 January 2021

Dalian Commodity Exchange slipped this morning following the development in the energy market. Players are rather concerned over the intensifying COVID-19 related lockdown in the country.  

Details on the spot and futures prices are shown in the following table:

Total inventories at Sinopec and CNPC’s warehouses piled up 50,000 tons throughout the weekend to 555,000 tons as of 25 January 2021.

There is very limited movement on the first trading hours of the week as players wish to monitor the movement on Dalian Commodity Exchange further. A number of local traders informed that buyers are no longer enthusiastic about placing orders, and even at lower price levels, the interest is very weak. 

More manufacturers are lowering operating rates this week, signaling a gradually softening demand in days ahead. Buyers remain cautious about purchases for the post-holiday period due to the uncertain market outlook.