For the Quarter Ending June 2022
North America
Rising raw material cost despite low demand from the domestic market has been a concern for the US market since the start of this year. Rising inflationary pressure amidst wavering demand fundamentals for commodities has pushed the market toward stagnation. However, prices remained buoyant for 2-Ethylhexylhexyl Acrylate in the US market during this quarter, bolstered by modest to stable demand from the regional market amidst high input costs. However, the demand outlook for the product was uncertain due to ongoing market disturbances post the arrival of depression in the market. In addition, high raw material costs were exacerbated by a sudden increase in natural gas value, which also affected the pricing dynamics of the product in the USA.
Asia
2-Ethylhexanoic Acid prices showcased mixed sentiments during this quarter; contrary to other Asian countries, 2-Ethylhexyl Acrylate prices remained high in the Indian market during June 2022. As per the market insights, traders revised their offers for current spot purchases due to lower product availability in the country. However, for bulk procurers and regular buyers, significant players were ready to negotiate on spot purchases; thus, pricing dynamics remained opposite for some buyers. On the Other Side, the Weakening demand from the domestic market amidst ample product availability led to a significant fall in the price of 2-Ethylhexyl Acrylate in China during the second half of the quarter. As per the insights, the Chinese market showcased a negative market sentiment for the product due to low offtakes from the domestic niche buyers.
Europe
2-Ethylhexyl Acrylate price kept rising throughout the quarter in the European market, owing to modest demand from the region amidst rising production costs. As per the intel, the German market faced a fear of natural gas shortage in the country due to the worsening Russia Ukraine war situation and the decision made by the Russian government to stop supplies of Natural gas. However, the prime factor that affected the overall pricing dynamics for the product was stable demand for the product from the domestic market and the steep rise in raw material cost, which compelled key players to revise their offers for future purchases.
For the Quarter Ending March 2022
North America
Because of the rapid price increase in upstream crude oil under the effect of the Ukraine-Russia war, the North American Acrylate market has been on an uptrend since the first week of this year. Since January, the crisis between Ukraine and Russia has had an impact on crude oil prices, like it had on global market sentiments. As a result of the inflationary pressure on convertors, several upstream commodities in the US market became more expensive week after week. The US government, on the other hand, attempted to stabilize prices by releasing strategic reserves and urging other significant economies, such as India, China, and Japan, to do the same. Thus, despite all these strategies and efforts put by government, 2-Ethylhexyl Acrylate price remained buoyant and assessed around USD 2590/MT in USA during February.
Asia Pacific
During this quarter, the Asian Acrylate market had mixed sentiments, which varied by country. In the Asian market, cost pressure from increased crude oil prices has been noted on various acrylates, triggered by recent intensified tensions between Russia and Ukraine. Since mid-January, tensions between Russia and Ukraine have injected uncertainty into the global market, driving up prices for global crude and natural gas futures. Traders were restricted from making large price increases on their imported commodities in India due to weak offtakes from the domestic market, despite imported prices increasing month over month. Conclusively, after all these hiccups, 2-Ethylhexyl Acrylate hovered around USD 2540/MT during February in China.
Europe
The growing price of crude oil, combined with rising energy prices in Europe, prompted important players to raise their offers in order to maintain margin. Due to their reliance on Russia for natural gas imports, Acrylate producers have been hit by the looming threat of natural gas scarcity, which has caused them to be concerned about margins. Natural gas contracts, on the other hand, soared out and injected significant turbulence into regional markets as a result of hefty sanctions on Russia imposed by major European countries such as Germany and the United Kingdom. Consequently, under these circumstances, 2-Ethylhexyl Acrylate rose effectively and were assessed around USD 2651/MT during February.
2-Ethylhexyl Acrylate price maintained overall stability throughout the quarter across US market. Market movement in USA remained elevated for some chemicals while dull for others and 2-Ethylhexyl Acrylate came into dull category. As per the analysis, demand remained effectively low from downstream users, while raw material also kept on tumbling across domestic market. As per the ChemAnalyst data, raw material 2-Ethyl hexanol, decayed by more than 7% within the quarter, while an overall decline of USD 100/MT was observed for another raw material Acrylic Acid. Therefore, taking advantage of cheaper raw materials, 2-Ethylhexyl Acrylate manufacturers negatively revised their offers across US market.
In Asian market2-Ethylhexyl Acrylate performed differently for different Asian countries during Q4 2021. In China, productions cuts and high energy price reduced the availability of several raw material in the country which also affected the production activities of other neighbouring nations like India. Meanwhile, Indian market remained buoyant on the back of high demand from domestic market during November, as festive season in bolstered the market dynamics of the country. On the other hand, Singapore market was the centre of attraction, as consistent and steep price escalation was observed due to high demand and soaring raw material cost. In Singapore, 2-Ethylhexyl Acrylate prices assessed around USD 3005/MT during December.
Despite of the fact that, European market showcased a sudden jump on production activities as economic activities bounced back from pandemic related uncertainties, 2-Ethylhexyl Acrylate price kept on declining across European market. Demand fundamentals for the product maintained overall stability during this quarter, while raw material cost kept on declining after prolonged price escalation, which supported this downtrend. Conclusively, 2-Ethylhexyl Acrylate price declined effectively during this quarter on the back of cheaper raw material cost and settled around USD 2600/MT during December.
