While China’s market was characterized by inventory-driven price stability amid soft demand, India’s upward trajectory was demand-led, supported by weather-driven consumption and downstream momentum. As regional markets respond differently to seasonal, economic, and logistical factors, Cyclopentane price trends in June 2025 reflect a complex interplay of localized dynamics rather than broad global patterns.
During the first half of June 2025, Cyclopentane prices exhibited divergent trends in major Asian markets, holding steady in China but experiencing an upward trend in India. The disparate trends are an indication of country-specific supply-demand fundamentals, the dynamics of trade logistics, and the performance of end-user markets.
In China, Cyclopentane prices remained unchanged, with no significant changes in prices reported amid continued logistics disruptions and port congestion in the main export terminals, such as Shanghai, Ningbo, and Qingdao, where traffic of vessels continued to rise. The congestion incidentally resulted in delayed exports, causing a temporary overhang of domestic inventories. This excess assisted in stabilizing local market supply by absorbing any possible up-pulling pricing stresses that would have otherwise been triggered by uncertainty in international trade.
On the manufacturing front, raw material supplies were stable, enabling manufacturing units emitting Cyclopentane to run normally. But orders from the refrigeration and insulation industries were soft, especially after refrigerator production declined by 10.7% year on year to 8.179 million units in May. The slowdown in appliance production encouraged downstream purchasers to cut procurement volumes for Cyclopentane, confining market activity to mere restocking only. Consequently, prices remained unchanged as both supply and demand remained mostly in line under the muted market sentiment.
Conversely, India's Cyclopentane market saw modest price appreciation on the back of firm demand from the refrigeration and air conditioning (AC) segment during a country-wide heatwave. Improved sales of cooling appliances in early June spurred a firm offtake of Cyclopentane, which is a major blowing agent employed in insulation foams. Dealers also practiced prudent stock-building of Cyclopentane in anticipation of further seasonal peaks in demand.
Notably, this price hike of Cyclopentane came when Benzene prices were generally falling as a key feedstock and was supported by tight contractual schedules and narrow price sensitivity of buyers. Inventories in the domestic market remained steady, and producers did not experience feedstock disruption, allowing for uninterrupted supply operations. Further, a record handling of cargo at Adani Ports (41.8 MMT in May) reflected India's logistics infrastructure's strength in support of seamless supply chains.
As per ChemAnalyst, the prices of Cyclopentane are expected to move northwards in the forthcoming days owing to modest seasonal demand and fluctuations in fuel prices amidst the ongoing trade tensions.
