Fatty Alcohol Prices Demonstrate Mixed Sentiments Across the Global Market

Fatty Alcohol prices have been demonstrating mixed sentiments across several regional markets. In the Asian region, overstocking upstream Palm Oil in major manufacturing countries and crippled market activity have slashed manufacturers' quotations. The European market is still grappling with limited natural gas supplies combined with German inflation running at a record 10 percent. The major driver of economic growth in Europe, Germany, has been witnessing deepening demand reduction measures from downstream surfactant and detergent industries. In addition, the downturn in demand has been further perceived in the domestic markets of China and Indonesia, which has led to a decrement in price offers for Fatty Alcohol.

In Malaysia, the ChemAnalyst database shows that the price trend of Fatty Alcohol remained unchanged on October 20th, 2022, as compared to the previous week's prices. The active procurement from the downstream surfactant and detergent industries has reinforced the market fundamentals of Fatty Alcohol among the manufacturers. However, the impact of wet weather and tropical storms on palm oil production in East Malaysia, as well as floods in Central Kalimantan, has concerned the traders as the heavy rains in Malaysia might impact the supply chain of Palm Oil for the importing countries.

On the other hand, the prices of upstream Palm Oil might surge in India as Russia has reportedly threatened to withdraw from an agreement on Black Sea grain exports, which includes palm oil. Furthermore, the downstream market players from FMCG industries have reported that the rising value of the US dollar has also impacted the pricing dynamics of imported edible oils. The further development in upstream Palm Oil prices is likely to be reflected in the price realizations of Fatty Alcohol in the Indian domestic market.

As per ChemAnalyst, the European region might witness fluctuating Fatty Alcohol prices brought on by slackened economic activity and the availability of input materials in the forthcoming weeks. However, the Indian government is examining whether to raise Palm oil import taxes in the domestic region, foreseeing falling prices, and it might impact the manufacturing costs of Fatty Alcohol in the near term.