Bearish raw material market declined the Butyl Acetate prices in Southeast Asian Market

The prices of Butyl Acetate in Southeast Asian market dropped down this month. In Singapore, the FOB Jurong prices of Butyl Acetate was observed to be $1321/ton with the declination of 8.9%. In Malaysia, the price of Butyl Acetate declined by 6.1% and the prices were hovering around $1304/ton-$1367/ton. In South Korea, the prices were observed to be $800/ton with month-on-month declination of 10%.

The weak demand and sufficient supply created market disruptions as the traders had sufficient existing stock and limited new stocks were being utilized. Upstream Acetic acid and n-butanol prices were also slipped due to declining crude oil and Methanol prices which are responsible for this price trend. Korea Alcohol Industrial (South Korea) and Petronas (Malaysia) had also reduced the prices of Butyl acetate in the domestic market and limited the imports from Singapore and China. Project pricing dynamics for Singapore was also affected as the major players had dropped their Butyl acetate prices. The import to India and China were also affected due to oversupplies in that region.

Butyl Acetate is a colourless and flammable liquid at room temperature and used as a high boiling solvent of moderate polarity. Acetic acid and n-butanol are the raw materials for this product which is produced by the esterification of n-Butanol with acetic acid in the presence of suitable acid catalyst. It is used as a synthetic food flavouring in foods. It is also used as a solvent in nail polish along with ethyl acetate. Germany is the major exporter of Butyl acetate contributing 20% in the global market. Talking about Southeast Asian countries, Singapore is the major exporter and mainly exports to India and South Korea.

According to ChemAnalyst, it is expected that the weak demand and sufficient supply will further decline the prices of Butyl Acetate in the Southeast Asian market. Upstream N-butanol and acetic acid will fall amid high inventories and weak trading atmosphere. Major players of Butyl acetate in Singapore will operate their plant cautiously as the weak demand may impact their sales volume.