For the week ending 21 Nov 2025, Acrylic acid prices seem to have remained at the low end of the overall price range in China but continued to drop in Europe. The demand on both sides of the ocean continues to be low while supply remains abundant.
In China, Acrylic acid prices were stable but still at the lower end of their recent ranges, due to a lack of demand. On the supply side, upstream propylene prices remain soft, bring down production cost and eroding any cost side support to Acrylic acid prices.
Although some positive signals emerged on supply chain part as scheduled maintenance at a Yantai plant and the suspension of spot sales by a major Shandong producer temporarily strengthened expectations of tighter supply. But the move did little to meaningfully tighten overall supply, with units in Ningbo and Huizhou back to normal operation. As a result, industry operating rates, still around 70%, remained largely balanced.
However, the critical bottleneck remained downstream demand. Downstream coatings and adhesive producers maintained conservative, just-in-time procurement strategies—refraining from large-scale restocking. Cold weather in north China further reduced construction activities, weakening acrylate consumption related to building materials. The cautious sentiment on both sides kept the market subdued and limited the possibility of any sustained uptrend.
The price of Acrylic acid in Europe dropped due to a lack of strong fundamentals within the industry both on the supply side as well as via the demand side. Weak demand from adhesive and coating sectors has put pressure on the market and reduced the level of demand from these sectors; additionally, Propylene feedstock values remained soft, providing no cost support.
Furthermore, with weak demand from downstream users’ converters have maintained low levels of inventories and have limited their purchasing appetite going into the end of the year. Competitive offers from overseas suppliers continued to create downward pressure on Acrylic acid prices and increased price competition.
As a result, sellers began to discount Acrylic acid prices to maintain sales volume and clear inventories prior to year-end. Due to the combination of weak demand from, ample supply of Acrylic acid, and aggressive pricing strategies employed by sellers, there was a bearish scenario for Acrylic acid pricing, and thus prices decreased across Europe.
In the near term, China's Acrylic acid market is expected to remain constrained, due to supply stability preventing sharp price drops and slowing customer purchasing behaviour related to weak demand. The European Acrylic acid market will remain under pressure from weak construction activity, limited purchasing by converters, and ongoing competitive pressures from overseas sources. Strong upward momentum in both markets will be dependent on improvements in global macroeconomic conditions, normalised interest rates on financing, and restocking cycles after year-end.
