In December 2025, US Triethylene Glycol (TEG) Prices witnessed a bearish trend amid abundance year-end sluggish downstream sentiment and inventory pressure. The TEG market price remained under pressure due to low-cost support and poor seasonal demand, which hindered price rally during the month the month.
Supply for TEG remained high due to already available material, combined with above-normal temperatures at the start of the peak season, which reduced immediate consumption needs. This supply-side relief in the TEG market was compounded by lackluster support in upstream crude oil prices in the same month. Crude Oil WTI fell over 1% so far in December 2025, heading for a fifth straight monthly loss, and has fallen nearly 20% for the year. The potential for large surplus, encouraged by higher production of OPEC+ and non-OPEC producers as well as weak growth in demand, was the factor that gradually pushed crude oil prices lower over 2025, exerting negative pressure on TEG indirectly.
On the demand side, the demand for TEG remained weak across the downstream industries due to the existing soft demand in the end-use markets. Procurement from the downstream sectors remained restrained, as buyers were cautious and adopted wait-and-watch strategy and closely monitoring TEG price movements and crude oil market volatility. Meanwhile, some local TEG suppliers with enough inventory adopted discounting strategy to stimulate bulk buying and clean stocks before the year-end.
Consequently, TEG prices in the US demonstrated a month-on-month drop of 4.32% in December 2025.
TEG has wide downstream market including use for natural gas dehydration, an anti-freezing agent, plasticizer, in polyester resins and polyurethane. Yet, TEG consumption in the downstream natural gas industry was feeble, particularly in the gas dehydration applications, curtailing TEG usage during the review period. The total rig count, which includes 7 miscellaneous rigs, was at 548 rigs, according to the December 17, 2025 report by the EIA, which is down by 41 from a year ago, signaling diminished activity and weakening demand for TEG.
Demand for TEG from other end use segments, such as plasticizers, polyester resins, and polyurethane was also lackluster as a result of extended downturn in construction industry. U.S. construction data confirmed the trend. U.S homebuilder sentiment improved a bit in December but was still deeply negative at the end of 2025. This reflected continued downward momentum in end-use consumption, with high costs of construction, policy uncertainty, and challenges in affordability. National Association of Home Builders / Wells Fargo Housing Market Index increased 1 point in December 2025, but it was still under the neutral mark of 50 for the third quarter to indicate that the majority of builders still considered market conditions to be worse for the time being, thereby limiting recovery for TEG in the near term.
