ChemAnalyst

Mono Ethylene Glycol prices dipped after observing a rise during the last week of March due to fluctuating crude oil prices. This drop in energy prices relieved the market prices of all crude derivative products including, Ethylene, and feedstock of MEG. In addition, due to the current epidemic situation in China, the manufacturers are hamstrung from increasing their prices, seeing the weak demand from downstream packaging and textile industries in the domestic market. MEG market dropped following the feedstock ethylene in the second half of this week after the smoothening of natural gas prices in the global market and the sluggish demand from the Asia-Pacific region because of lockdown in China. Ethylene Glycol manufacturers have also reduced their operating load by 3% compared to the beginning of the month. There was a drop in construction by 2% in the downstream polyester industry with insufficient inventories. China, being a net importer of Ethylene Glycol, has witnessed several...

The Global Butyraldehyde market is witnessing an uptrend under the influence of a steep rise in upstream value coupled with improved demand from the downstream market. The sudden escalation in crude oil value due to the Russia Ukraine war injected inflationary pressure on consumers, which contributed to frequent price revisions by key players. As per ChemAnalyst data, changes of around 3.5% and 2% have been observed in the price of Butyraldehyde during February-March 2022 timeframe in India and Japan, respectively. These price revisions were bolstered by rising crude oil value coupled with improving economic activities in the regional market. Meanwhile, pandemic-related uncertainties have been a matter of concern for global key players, as China is in lockdown again, while Europe and Canada are also witnessing a resurgence of another COVID variant. Furthermore, demand fundamentals for Butyraldehyde from the downstream 2-Ethyhexanol and other paints and coating segments maintained ove...

In the Asian market, the spot prices of Methyl Methacrylate (MMA) are hovering around USD 2200/ton - USD 2400/ton. In China, Poly methyl Methacrylate prices surged by 20% - 30% for April shipments. Methyl Methacrylate General Purpose (GP) prices accelerated to USD 2100/ton-USD 2350/ton CFR, China, and USD 2400/ton-USD 2700/ton CFR for Southeast Asia in the first week of April. Feedstock Methanol market continued to increase with the price range of USD 420/ton-USD 470/ton, affected by coal shortage and reduction in production rate. Surging Covid cases in China with port congestions shoot up the prices of Petrochemical products in the domestic market. The production rate is also affected in China due to supply shortage and runs with a capacity of 60% - 70%. This week, PetroChina Jilin cut the production rate of the Methyl Methacrylate plant affected by the upstream Acrylonitrile (AN) plant shutdown in mid-March due to economic reasons. In Europe, soaring energy value and bullish raw mat...

During the initial assessment in April by ChemAnalyst, Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene prices have increased sharply on the back of firm cost pressure from three feedstocks and stable demand fundamentals from the downstream industries. Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene market has witnessed a robust bullish rally in March, and prices continue to move northwards. As of the 1st week of April, Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene prices in China have been assessed at USD 2395 per MT on FOB basis. Among feedstocks, the prices of Butadiene have been going through the roof in the domestic Chinese market. As per the latest insights from China market, Butadiene exports have been shunned in order to cater to the domestic demand. Butadiene, which finds its wide use in many polymers and elastomers, has been in rich demand in both rubber and polymer markets. Hence, Butadiene prices have been assessed at USD 1640 per MT on FOB basis at the beginning of April 2022. Meanwhile, the Styrene market has ob...

The price of Acrylic Staple Fibre rises in the Asia Pacific region owing to high feedstock acrylonitrile, whereas the Propylene market saw a downtrend with easing crude price. As per the market source, the Acrylic Staple Fibre (ASF) 1.5D grade prices this week increased and were assessed at USD 2910 in China on an FOB basis. Acrylic staple fiber is used in sweaters and sewn products due to its warm texture. It is also used in apparel and household industries. Producers believe that the demand has slumped drastically for apparels, but the demand is still stable to firm from the carpet manufacturing industry. Hence, the prices of ASF have not deteriorated despite declining demand from the clothing industry. Meanwhile, feedstock Acrylonitrile faces competition from other industries with high demands from rubber, plastics, pesticides, and the chemical industry. Imports of Acrylic Staple Fibre for European region remained weak due to persistently high freight charges and weakening deman...

Asian Natural Gas prices surged, tracking European gas prices due to limited Russian gas flow and LNG supply. High LNG spot prices come with increasing crude oil prices staying above the $100/barrel mark due to emerging demand and limited supply. On 17th March, Reliance Industries Limited sold Natural gas from its coal bed methane for around $23.5/MMBtu in Madhya Pradesh. It was heard that LNG importers like Pakistan, India, and Thailand had to pay approximately $33/MMBtu - $36/MMBtu for spot LNG cargoes which is the highest price they had settled in the market. In the Chinese market, the drop in total imports came as spot prices increased due to supply shortages, and buyers switched to coal for their requirements. On 30th March, at Title Transfer Facility (TTF) in the Netherlands, the LNG spot prices rose to a weekly average of $34.66/MMBtu due to bullish demand and limited supply. The Henry Hub spot prices rose from $5.26/MMBtu, on 23rd March, to $5.34/MMBtu on 30th March. In this w...

The market for Acrylonitrile has been depicting contrasting trends at different latitudes on account of distinct upstream cost and downstream demand in different territories. Acrylonitrile, produced from ammoxidation of propylene, is the upstream for ABS and Acrylic fibres. Hence, the fluctuations in the demand or prices of propylene and ABS majorly influence the market for Acrylonitrile. The Asian countries are witnessing a complete turnaround of Acrylonitrile prices from the other parts of the world, making them an exception. In Asian countries, the price of Acrylonitrile is falling, owing to the ample supply of upstream propylene. The stable to marginally lower demand for Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) has also supported the price drop of Acrylonitrile in Asia. The numerical data from the continuing week confirmed the reports about this price dip. The evaluated price value implied a decrement of USD 5/MT from Monday to Tuesday in the ongoing week at FOB Korea and CFR China...