With a marginal ease in crude oil value, Dibutyl Phthalate prices still soaring in global market

Rising inflationary pressure coupled with firm offtakes from the domestic market has been pressuring global market dynamics for several commodities, including phthalates, for a long time. Key players have started wondering about their future profitability, as under the influence of rising cost pressure, consumers might slow down their overall consumption. As per the ChemAnalyst data, a rise of around 2.8 % has been observed for Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP) in the Indian market under the influence of rising upstream value amidst seasonal offtakes from the domestic market.

In Asia, high volatility is fuelling uncertainties on the ground of frequently changing global crude oil value, making it hard to predict any long-term market dynamics. However, since the pandemic has started, it has made it far more difficult to predict demand/supply fundamentals for a particular commodity in a specific market. Recently, China has undergone stringent lockdown restrictions due to a historic high number of daily pandemic cases in the country, as the country follows a zero-tolerance policy. Meanwhile, the growth of the Indian economy has also slowed down since the crude oil value escalated across the global market, which can be termed as a spillover of Russia and Ukraine's war on India.

Recently, the USA released its own strategic reserves in order to calm fuming global crude oil value, where lockdown in the largest crude importer, i.e., China, indirectly supported the motive. However, crude oil is highly volatile in the global market, fluctuating by USD 5-20/barrel every week. Global key players are still engaged in monitoring overall demand-supply fundamentals in order to sustain global economic recovery without affecting their own profitability. In addition, as per the information, Indian petrochemical giant IOCL (Indian Oil Corporation) has bought 3 million barrels from Russia at a steep discount, which may be opportune for them to release their cargoes on better offers.

As per ChemAnalyst analysis, Dibutyl Phthalate prices are expected to remain buoyant for the coming weeks in the global market, as the demand for the product will not decline any time soon. Furthermore, the current ease in global crude oil value is expected to be temporary, where consumption in China will improve in line with ease in movement restrictions in the country.