Methanol and glacial acetic acid rose, while ethanol and sulfuric acid fell. The National Bureau of Statistics' distribution-market price release, published on September 4, records different price movements across chemicals in late August. Premium-grade methanol increased by 9.0% from mid-August and glacial acetic acid of at least 99.5% purity by 6.3%, the largest gains among the 11 chemical products listed.
Data period: mid- and late August 2026
Gains varied, and two products declined
Methanol's monitored price reached RMB 2,873.2 per tonne, up RMB 237.6; glacial acetic acid reached RMB 3,153.8, up RMB 187.1. Butadiene rubber, polyester filament and pure benzene also rose, by smaller percentages.
Sulfuric acid at 98% concentration fell by 1.9%, and ethanol at 95.0% by 0.9%. Liquid caustic soda at 32% edged up by 0.1%. Counting the published percentage changes gives nine increases and two decreases, rather than a uniform rise across all chemical raw materials.
| Material and specification | Price (RMB/t) | Change (RMB/t) | Change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Methanol（Premium grade） | 2873.2 | +237.6 | +9.0% |
| Glacial acetic acid（At least 99.5%） | 3153.8 | +187.1 | +6.3% |
| Butadiene rubber（BR9000） | 14176.2 | +686.6 | +5.1% |
| Polyester filament（POY150D/48F） | 8975.0 | +384.4 | +4.5% |
| Pure benzene（Petroleum benzene industrial grade） | 8129.7 | +186.5 | +2.3% |
| Polyethylene（LLDPE MI 2 film grade） | 8745.5 | +143.2 | +1.7% |
| Polypropylene（Drawing grade） | 9187.1 | +152.7 | +1.7% |
| Lithium iron phosphate（Standard power-battery grade） | 56905.4 | +790.9 | +1.4% |
| Liquid caustic soda（32%） | 685.4 | +0.9 | +0.1% |
| Ethanol（95.0%） | 5340.5 | -48.7 | -0.9% |
| Sulfuric acid（98%） | 1903.8 | -36.8 | -1.9% |
Late August versus mid-August 2026, ranked by published percentage change.Source: NBS; compiled by SHANGHAI BULK CHEMICAL Editorial Team.
Methanol rose again; glacial acetic acid reversed its decline
Linking the latest figures to the mid-August release published by the NBS on August 24 shows more than a single-period ranking. Methanol rose 6.3% in mid-August against early August, then another 9.0% in late August against mid-August. Glacial acetic acid fell 0.8% in the earlier comparison before rising 6.3% in the later one. The two leading gainers had followed different paths beforehand.
The pace also varied among other products. Pure benzene's increase narrowed from 6.1% in mid-August to 2.3% in late August, and butadiene rubber's from 7.3% to 5.1%: prices continued rising, but by smaller percentages. Polyester filament's increase widened from 1.7% to 4.5%. These comparisons distinguish rising prices from accelerating gains; a smaller increase is not a price decline.
Ethanol fell 1.3% in mid-August and 0.9% in late August, while sulfuric acid fell 2.2% and 1.9%, respectively. Both declined in consecutive periods, with smaller percentage decreases in the latest period. Each change is measured against the preceding reporting period, not the start of the year. Adding the two percentages would not give the cumulative price change.
Yuan-per-tonne changes and percentage changes tell different stories
Methanol had the largest percentage increase, but not the largest increase in yuan per tonne. Lithium iron phosphate rose RMB 790.9 per tonne, or 1.4%; methanol rose RMB 237.6, or 9.0%. Their starting price levels differ. The absolute change shows how many yuan were added per tonne, while the percentage measures the change relative to each product's own base price.
Ranking the table by percentage change helps compare relative movements. Adding prices per tonne across different materials would not produce a meaningful chemical cost measure: their functions and quantities in formulations and production differ, and the table supplies no usage weights for such an index. Nine increases and two decreases is a product count, not the rate or extent of a price rise across the chemical industry.
Distribution prices retain important specification differences
The survey covers prices charged by wholesalers, agents and distributors. According to the NBS notes, monitoring spans 31 provincial-level regions, more than 300 trading markets and nearly 2,000 businesses. Information is collected through on-site inquiries, telephone calls, instant messaging and email. The results describe monitored distribution markets across multiple locations, not a quotation sheet from one factory or a Shanghai supplier.
Distribution prices incorporate distribution expenses, business margins and taxes as well as factory-gate prices. Transmission between the two also involves time lags. Their movements need not coincide over a given period, and the survey does not directly measure changes in manufacturers' profits.
The official appendix identifies the 95.0% ethanol series as standard-grade ethanol; the 32% liquid caustic soda series as membrane-cell caustic with a sodium hydroxide mass fraction of at least 32%; and glacial acetic acid as having purity of at least 99.5%. Concentration and grade are central to comparability. Sharing the name ethanol does not make this price applicable to anhydrous ethanol or other grades.
The full release covers agricultural products, petroleum and natural gas as well as chemicals; soybeans, white sugar and paraffin each carry their own specifications. The chemical comparison covers 11 entries and does not include every oleochemical or food ingredient. Materials absent from the table, including glycerine and fatty acids, are neither treated as zero nor assigned another product's price change.
