Report Industry Investment Rating - Not provided Core View of the Report - The plastic market is in a triple dilemma of "supply pressure, demand constraints, and cost collapse." Without strong policy intervention or explosive demand growth, the plastic futures 2601 contract will maintain a weak and volatile trend, and its price center of gravity will continue to decline [2][7] Summary by Related Contents Crude Oil Price Decline - Recently, due to OPEC+ continuous production increase, intensifying global economic concerns, and weakening geopolitical risks, domestic and foreign crude oil futures prices have continued to decline. The US WTI crude oil futures price dropped to a low of $56.63 per barrel, and the Brent crude oil futures price fell to $60.11 per barrel, both hitting new lows since the second quarter of this year. As of the week of October 17, 2025, the domestic oil - based linear cost was 7,176 yuan/ton, a weekly drop of 390 yuan/ton; the coal - based linear cost was 6,507 yuan/ton, a weekly decline of 94 yuan/ton. It is expected that the support of oil - based cost will weaken, while the coal - based cost will change little [4] Supply - Side Pressure - From the supply side, the inertia of domestic polyethylene (PE) capacity expansion continues. New device launches and the resumption of maintenance have jointly led to a marginal increase in supply. Last week, multiple petrochemical enterprise devices in China restarted, including Dushanzi Petrochemical's 300,000 - ton/year device, Sinochem Quanzhou's 400,000 - ton/year device, Yulin Chemical's 400,000 - ton/year device, Jilin Petrochemical's 280,000 - ton/year device, and Maoming Petrochemical's 250,000 - ton/year device. In the long - term, deeper structural pressure comes from overcapacity, and the "price - for - volume" strategy of enterprises has further increased market supply pressure [5] Demand - Side Weakness - Demand is far less than expected, which is the core factor suppressing plastic futures prices. In October, although it is the traditional peak season for agricultural films, the "peak season effect" is insufficient. After the National Day holiday, downstream demand is mainly rigid, and the overall PE downstream operating rate is at the lowest level in the same period in recent years. The "Double 11" promotion has a weakening marginal effect on packaging film demand. The cautious market sentiment has led to a "price - decline - demand - wait - price - decline - again" negative feedback loop. As of the week of October 17, domestic polyethylene social sample warehouse inventory was 545,600 tons, a weekly increase of 21,200 tons, or 4.03%. Among them, the LLDPE social sample warehouse inventory increased by 1.63% week - on - week and 47.55% year - on - year [6]

Core Viewpoint - The plastic market is currently facing a triple dilemma of "supply pressure, demand pressure, and cost collapse," leading to a bearish outlook for the plastic futures 2601 contract price [5] Group 1: Supply Factors - Domestic polyethylene (PE) production capacity continues to expand, with several petrochemical companies restarting production after maintenance, contributing to a marginal increase in supply [3] - The cost of oil-based polyethylene has significantly decreased, with the domestic oil-based cost reported at 7176 yuan/ton, down 390 yuan/ton week-on-week, while coal-based cost is at 6507 yuan/ton, down 94 yuan/ton [2] - The overall capacity utilization in the petrochemical industry remains low due to overcapacity, leading to increased market supply pressure as companies adopt a "price for volume" strategy to maintain cash flow and market share [3] Group 2: Demand Factors - Demand for plastic is significantly weaker than expected, with the traditional peak season in October not translating into substantial purchasing activity, resulting in a cautious market sentiment [4] - The overall operating rate for downstream polyethylene is at its lowest for the same period in recent years, with limited support from upcoming events like "Double 11" [4] - Domestic polyethylene inventory has slightly increased, with a reported inventory of 54.56 million tons, up 2.12 million tons week-on-week, indicating a lack of strong demand [4] Group 3: Price Dynamics - The pricing logic in the plastic futures market has shifted from being driven by "cost + demand" to "cost + supply," leading to a downward adjustment in market pricing [2] - The Southeast Asian plastic market is currently buyer-dominated, with buyers having ample options and a continuous decline in price expectations [2] - The combination of weak demand and falling costs is expected to keep the price of the plastic futures 2601 contract on a downward trajectory [5]