While the new coronavirus outbreak spread inside China and the Lunar New Year holidays were extended, many industries suffered from a shortage of workers. Market players expected that it would take at least two or three months for the new virus outbreak to subside. During this period, daily consumption would be decrease notably and China's domestic demand for final products of polymer resins and synthetic rubber was expected to decline. At this moment, many petrochemical manufacturers had halted or reduced run rates at their petrochemical plants. Run cuts at downstream units were more significant compared to upstream units. Under the circumstances, feedstock supply inside China was seen to be in surplus going forward.

Looking at each product, the ethylene market was affected less because of low domestic distribution. But many derivative manufacturers faced restrictions in product transportation and the pace of consumption was slow. For the propylene market, many derivative manufacturers reduced production or halted their plants and demand decreased. Thus, there was a sense of oversupply within China and import volumes declined. Several market sources reckoned that China's import volumes for propylene might be halved in future. For the butadiene market, demand for synthetic rubber was expected to fall amid delays in the restart of production by tire manufacturers.