The market for Heavy Aromatic Naphtha Solvent in India saw a significant price decrease of 3.4% in June 2025, driven by decreased demand from major downstream sectors. The decline in prices mirrored the market difficulties impacting the solvent industry due to reduced economic trends.
Demand for Heavy Aromatic Naphtha Solvent stayed moderate in June, particularly from the pharmaceutical and coatings industries. The paints and coatings industry, a major consumer of heavy aromatic naphtha solvent, experienced challenges in June. Companies like Asian Paints reported a meagre volume growth of 1.8%, indicating the sector's difficulties with pricing pressure and falling urban demand.
While the pharmaceutical sector posted stable growth characterized by an 8% year-on-year gain in domestic sales, it did not reflect this in increasing Heavy Aromatic Naphtha Solvent usage. The enterprises in this sector largely maintained their solvent purchases yet preferred the previously available stock instead of placing new orders.
The manufacturing dynamics of Heavy Aromatic Naphtha Solvent were well-balanced in June 2025. Domestic output levels were standard, supported by steady utilization rates at the major integrated refining and petrochemical plants. Nevertheless, the smaller manufacturers may have reduced their operating rates due to the decline in downstream off-take, particularly from the paints and adhesives sectors.
Supply conditions for Heavy Aromatic Naphtha Solvent remained stable throughout the month. The inventory levels of domestic producers were adequate, further reducing the need for new productions. Moreover, import volumes remained limited because of the anti-dumping duty, which continued to support domestic Heavy Aromatic Naphtha Solvent manufacturers.
The production costs for Heavy Aromatic Naphtha Solvent showed some improvement in June as upstream raw material rates declined. The fall in the prices of feedstock, mainly benzene, eased the input cost burden. Consequently, this reduced the pricing pressure on Heavy Aromatic Naphtha Solvent in the domestic market.
Export activities for Heavy Aromatic Naphtha Solvent remained active to Southeast Asian countries, albeit at a slower pace than previous months. This average export trend was indicative of the overall weak sentiment in the Heavy Aromatic Naphtha Solvent market.
Looking forward, market analysts at ChemAnalyst foresee a price increase of 3% in Heavy Aromatic Naphtha Solvent prices this month. It is expected that the rise will be driven by expected restocking by downstream industries post the demand fall in June. Furthermore, a possible increase in prices of global crude oil and aromatic feedstock, which may push up production costs, could lead to upward price trends.
However, forecasts by the firm for August 2025 appear bearish as the prices of Heavy Aromatic Naphtha Solvent are likely to move downwards by 1.7%. The decline in prices reflects the concerns over seasonal demand slowdown in the paints and coatings industry and the potential pressure from international petrochemical margins.
The expectation in the market, however, remains cautiously optimistic as industry players watch the downstream demand patterns for Heavy Aromatic Naphtha Solvent and the global feedstock prices that will affect the price movement in the coming months.
