How oscillation in Methanol affect Asia’s Acetic Acid market

Shanghai, China- Ever since the sufficient stocks of feedstock Methanol hit the Asian market from Iran, Venezuela, and Russia, Acetic Acid prices descended in the region. The fluctuations and vague market sentiments revised the prices for the regional market. However, Acetic Acid prices started to rise once again but are still on the lower end. In China, the price of Acetic Acid observed to be USD 750/ton FOB Qingdao on 13th May.

As the market for Acetic acid started to accelerate from the previous week, the ongoing trend of downstream paint and coating industries has become a matter of discussion, which was previously affected by the Labor Day holiday.

If we focus on the feedstock market, the Asian Methanol sentiments remained slightly softer to the lower end, as the lockdown in China weighs on upstream Natural gas and consumer demand, which affected the price trend.

A trusted source in Kandla confirmed that “The ports of Gujarat are somewhat congested due to storage issues related to acetic acid”. With this statement, it is clear that the market is affected due to oversupplies which descended the prices.

If we dive into the industry news, Guangxi Huayi resumes its acetic acid production in China on the 13th of May, which had undergone a turnaround for maintenance. In the US, Celanese Corporation, a global chemical, and specialty material company, declared a force majeure on its Acetyl Chain and Acetate acted in force from 11th May.

According to ChemAnalyst, it is expected that Acetic acid prices will revive in the forecast period due to accelerating demand and strong market sentiments. A major plant shutdown can surge Acetic acid prices and its derivatives market this month. In China, many glacial acetic acid factories are under maintenance or have maintenance plans in the future, so it is expected that the supply will remain tight.