The US Sodium Benzoate market got off to a sluggish start in January, continuing the downward trend that was already in place by the end of last year. Prices dropped by 1.3% in December and didn't really pick up steam in the second week of January as buyers just weren't feeling any huge rush to get back into the market after the holidays. Things stayed quiet for end users who were relying on holdover stock from earlier in the year, so fresh orders trickled in at a slow pace, and overall demand stayed muted. As the market might expect, given the trend, supply conditions were buyer friendly. The market is still seeing steady import flows coming from Asia and Europe, and this is largely because logistics are still running smoothly and there's a decent amount of inventory on hand at distributors in major US hubs. To make things even easier for buyers, transport costs dropped, which just added to the downward pressure on prices. Domestically market wasn’t seeing any problems with the supply chain - no disruptions to report - and availability was more than sufficient. Meanwhile, manufacturers in the food and beverage, personal care, and pharmaceutical spaces - who are the ones downstream from the Sodium Benzoate market - were basically just chugging along as usual, without really putting on any pressure to lift prices. All in all, market participants think prices are going to stay under pressure through the rest of January - mainly because of the weak demand that's still lingering after the holidays and because supply is still comfortable.
