chemical Prices

  Maleic Anhydride prices in China have been steady since the mid of April, despite volatility in the feedstock Benzene market. In contrast to America and Europe, benzene prices in Asia have been volatile for a long time. The downstream Unsaturated Resin market has recently become more active. The market has remained stable due to traders' delayed buying sentiments in the Chinese market. As a result, after considerable changes, Maleic Anhydride prices in the Chinese domestic market have remained steady. The CFR Shanghai Benzene price was USD 1140/MT in the third week of April. Maleic Anhydride was flat at USD 1766/tonne on April 26th, compared to the daily tally, and declined by 2.78 percent month over month. Following the decision to ban Russian oil and gas imports, the cost drag from higher Benzene and n-butanol prices was offset by a considerable increase in demand coupled with excessive energy prices. Maleic Anhydride demand has been strong since the start of the year, with spo...

Skyrocketing Natural Gas prices driven by the Russia-Ukraine war had already been surging the Petrochemical market across the globe. Weakening Asian Natural Gas sentiments and less competition for European buyers eager to displace Russian energy supplies weakened the price trend. However, the prices are still on the higher end with supply constraints. When observed on 18th April, the prices of Natural Gas surged to their peak with the price trend of USD 7.74 per MMBtu. The price of Natural Gas in China also remained sluggish due to increasing covid cases in the region resulting in port congestions and dented energy consumption. The slowing demand for Natural Gas in the Asian region also impacted its derivative market, including Methanol and Paraformaldehyde. The Natural Gas spot prices rose in most of the regions in the US market when observed from 13th April to 20th April. Due to the easing price trend compared to previous weeks, the Natural gas futures also decreased, and most of th...

  The second week of April saw prices of Propylene in the Asia Pacific region dip across most countries on the back of an ease-up in the prices of crude oil. Epichlorohydrin prices in Asia Pacific region have been on the rise throughout the month of March before seeing an eventual dip in the last week of March as prices of upstream propylene eased up by the third week of March. Downstream demand from the synthetic glycerine and Epoxy resin industries has been steady through March. Chinese ECH prices have seen a dip during the week ending 15th of April, making short gains in spot trade in the previous week. Thailand too had seen a similar trend with Aditya Birla Chemicals revising their offers upward for the month of April in expectation of higher feedstock prices as was the case in the last week of March. Spot prices, however, did not reflect the cost-push by producers as prices of Epichlorohydrin started to fall in the third week of April as the crude oil market in the prior two...

Soaring Natural Gas prices showcased a negative impact on the purchases of the Petrochemical derivative products in the Asian market. China has slashed Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) purchases as bullish global prices lessen the Natural Gas imports and pandemic situations strangle the market sentiments. Towards the end of Q1 2022, the LNG imports in China fell by 14% compared with the same quarter of the previous year. In India, the price of Natural Gas remained on the upper end where the prices were hovering around USD 7.2 per MMBtu Ex-Hazira-7.3 per MMBtu Ex-Hazira when captured on 18th April. From the starting of April month, Central Government had almost doubled the prices of Natural gas for six months in the domestic market. India had linked the prices of domestically traded Natural Gas according to the global benchmarks, including Henry Hub and Russian Gas. Inflation of product prices is more likely to boost the earnings of the Indian producers like ONGC, Oil India Ltd. and Relianc...

Rising Upstream Crude prices and their derivatives, the ongoing geopolitical tension disrupting the trade, and the increasing demand from the end-use industries have resulted in a rise in the Isopropyl Alcohol (IPA) prices in the global market. China is the major exporter of Isopropyl Alcohol in the global market. The disruption caused to the Chinese ports due to the resurgence of COVID has led to a delay in the trade, which resulted in upward trajectory movement in the Isopropyl Alcohol market. Moreover, the Russia-Ukraine conflict has caused a spike in crude and natural gas costs, which has impacted raw materials like acetone and propylene, further affecting Isopropyl Alcohol values. According to the ChemAnalyst data, the price of Isopropyl Alcohol in China settled at USD 1155 per MT on the week ending 8th April. Isopropyl Alcohol with 70% concentration is highly used in the production of common alcohol swabs and wipes. Also, it is widely used in downstream cosmetics, paints, and sa...

Ethanol prices have shown buoyancy and were observed at $870/Mt, FOB California, USA, on 8th April following the increasing feed, corn, and sugarcane prices. Apart from its applications in food, pharmaceuticals, personal, and healthcare, Ethanol has also shown its use as biofuel. These factors have positively impacted the demand for Ethanol in the global market. Ethanol is manufactured by fermentation of molasses obtained from corn and sugarcane. The prices of corn and sugarcane burned up, showcasing its proportional effects on the prices of Ethanol. Ethanol manufacturers faced turmoil in India because of the oil marketing company (OMCs) policy. According to the manufacturers, production of Ethanol has been hampered due to a lack of financial support from the government. Furthermore, the manufacturers believe that the policy does not support major Ethanol producing states which have pressured them to increase the production cost, showing its direct effects on the prices of Ethanol. Fu...

When Russia invaded Ukraine on 24th Feb and created extreme price trend variation of LPG across the globe, Russia was also being accused of intentional disruption of gas supply for months to leverage its role as the highest gas exporter to Europe during an escalating dispute with Ukraine. The aftershock of the high price of LPG was different in various regions. Europe suffered the most due to its high dependency on Russian oil and its increased reliance on LPG for Energy. Meanwhile, the cost of living for the African populous was also highly impacted as their cooking gas price rose by 50%. As the whole world is desperate to find alternate oil sources, Europe is eyeing Africa to meet its oil needs. However, Africa cannot produce 380 million cubic meters of LPG on average per day, which is the amount Europe is receiving from Russia. In 2019, Nigeria exported over two million barrels of natural gas to the international market. Still, they are nowhere near to the production capacity of th...

  The price of Ammonium Carbonate increased this month, following the global rise in ammonia costs. The upstream ammonia and carbon dioxide gas prices and rising natural gas prices pushed the Ammonium Carbonate price s higher. Farmers in India and the downstream end consumers were cautious of the country's fertilizer prices ahead of the next Kharif season. Due to the high upstream values such as Natural Gas and Coal, prices in the global market have been growing for an extended period. The rising cost of ammonium carbonate influenced the food industries, as it is primarily ascribed to bakeries and is known as Baker's Ammonia. Prices for Ammonium Carbonate have been steadily growing for a long time, owing to the rising gas prices, high demand from the United States, supply issues, and market disruptions in the United States. The downstream agriculture business is concerned about a lack of fertilizer supplies, as total inventory levels in all major sectors are well below histor...

  Hexene prices have been termed as stable to weak in the German market during the initial assessment as market participants reported declined demand from downstream Polyethylene. Hexene prices in the European market remained firm throughout March owing to increased prices of imports reaching German shores. The European continent has been mired in the firm grip of inflation as energy prices have been skyrocketing pressuring the commodities market. The European Polyethylene market has been going through an upheaval as demand from the packaging sector has been robust however PE producers have been left wanting with the increasing energy and feedstock prices. Increasing costs have culminated in production cuts and consequently, demand for PE intermediates including Hexene which is widely used in the production of Linear Low-Density Polyethylene (LLDPE) has dipped in the first week. Hexene prices in Germany have been assessed at USD 3385 per MT on a CFR basis. Market participants have...

Bisphenol A prices entered an uphill price trajectory this week with a 4% increment after declining in China for the last two weeks. As per the ChemAnalyst database, this steep price rise is due to the rising demand from the derivative market. The increased consumption of epoxy resins and polycarbonate derivatives from the downstream automotive sector has supported this price hike. Despite BPA being banned globally in food packaging and baby bottles, the rising demand from the automotive and electronic industries has kept the price hike. As a result, the prices of Bisphenol A rose significantly in China, reaching USD 2595/tonne for Bisphenol A FOB Qingdao on 1st April. In addition, the recent lockdown in China's largest port, Shanghai, affected the trading activity across the region. Suspended import volumes from South Korea led to the crippling availability of the product to the downstream market. Low inventory levels and container scarcity in the Chinese ports have choked variou...