Asian Ethylene Acrylic Elastomer Performance in May shows a mixed bag

China: Chinese market sentiments have recently become more obvious after weeks of demonstrating twirl pricing trends. Market trends for numerous products begin to shape as the situation of Covid-19 improves, the Labour Day holiday ends, and crude oil prices fall. As the clouds of uncertainty have cleared, understanding the market conditions in China has gotten easier.

According to ChemAnalyst's recent reports, the Ethylene Acrylic Elastomer prices have continued to dwindle in the Chinese market due to the sudden fall in the crude oil and naphtha value, impacting the raw material cost, notably Ethylene and Acrylic monomers. The feedstock ethylene prices have witnessed a significant decline of around 1-2% in the third week of May.

In addition, A trader located in China revealed that China's automotive industries are expected to smooth out in May as the country returns to normalcy after a long time of turbulence. Ethylene Acrylic Elastomer prices in the Chinese domestic market have also been pushed down by the steady supply rate, which is projected to match the stable end-user demand for automotive and other downstream sectors.

Furthermore, Imports of naphtha and ethylene from South Korea and Japan have caused raw material Ethylene prices to reverse their trend since the first week of May. Trans-Pacific arbitrage for Ethylene trade from the United States improved over freight bottlenecks, and freight rates eased, which in turn led to the low production cost of Ethylene Acrylic Elastomer.

However, in the Indian market, the Ethylene Acrylic Elastomer has demonstrated an upward trend owing to the Skyrocketing raw material cost, including Ethylene and Acrylic monomers. The price inclination was due to the limited supplies, volatile natural gas and crude prices, mounting demand, and high inflation rates.

Furthermore, under the pressure of rising raw material costs, Ethylene Acrylic Elastomer manufacturers increased production expenses to boost their profit margins. In addition, trade-related activities have been hampered by the prolonged war and Covid outbreak in China, resulting in shoot-up freight costs that have driven up the price of Ethylene Acrylic Elastomer.

As per ChemAnalyst, "Prices of Ethylene Acrylic Elastomer in the Chinese market are expected to be fall in the forthcoming weeks due to the decline in the raw material cost. Meanwhile, in the Indian market, the Ethylene Acrylic Elastomer prices are anticipated to climb owing to further increases in the feedstock prices. Additionally, trade activities and production cost might impact the prices of Ethylene Acrylic Elastomer in the Asian Market."