For the Quarter Ending March 2022
North America
In Q1 2022, the price of Ethyl Acetate slipped due to weak downstream demand and stockpiling of inventories among the downstream ventures. In the USA, the price of Ethyl Acetate towards the start of the quarter was observed to be USD 1682/ton DEL mid-west. The declining trend resulted from weak Acetic acid prices sufficient mid supply from the manufacturers. Volatile raw material cost challenged the industry profitability, affecting the ethyl acetate market. Major Ethyl Acetate producers in the USA had increased Ethyl Acetate prices for overseas suppliers. The demand of Ethyl Acetate in US market was reduced with the following months.
Asia Pacific
In this quarter, the prices of Ethyl Acetate in India slipped in the first half of the quarter as the market was stable to the lower end due to a weak trading atmosphere and saturation of products in the regional market. The supply was exceedingly abundant, but the demand was not strong. Also, the government had cut production tax on certain chemicals, namely Acetic acid and Methanol, which slowed down the prices in the domestic market. However, in the final half of the quarter, the increase in demand for its end-stream products in the pharmaceuticals and packaging enterprise resulted in escalating the prices of Ethyl Acetate. The Russian invasion of Ukraine was one of the major reasons for surging the prices of crude oil and natural gas, which affected the prices of other products, namely acetic acid and ethanol. In India, the price of Ethyl Acetate towards the end of the quarter was observed to be USD 1288/ton Ex-Depot Delhi. When compared to the previous quarter, the price slipped by 16% in Q1 2022.
Europe
In Q1 2022, the price of Ethyl Acetate in Germany towards the end was observed to be USD 2148/ton FD Karlsruhe. Feedstock Methanol market was seen to be steady, yet costs of Ethyl acetate surged from the strong interest from the downstream ventures. However, the market was observed to be revived after the price hit in the first half of the quarter with moderate demand. Impacted imports of the product from Belgium because of supply shortage hampered the domestic market of Germany. The utilization of Ethyl Acetate in the downstream Paint and coating ventures was robust as the interest from the customer's end was high, which created pressure on the endeavours to fulfil the buyer's interest.
For the quarter ending December 2021
North America
Overall, the market was stable in North American region during Q4. The prices of Ethyl Acetate peaked due to increase in methanol prices, in mid Q4 and felled to 1625 USD/tonne by the end of Dec, on FOB basis in USA. The observed fall was 4% in the prices since Q3. The prices in November rose due to high demand from the importing countries. Though there was surge in the prices of feed Ethanol in USA but that didn’t impact much of the prices in the domestic market. Prices to exporting countries remained on the higher side because of their demand.
Asia
The demand from downstream industries rose in mid of Q4 in Asian countries because of festive season. There was an increase of 10% in mid Q4 and overall increase of 7% in prices since Q3 in China. The increment in the prices of feed Ethanol was observed but the prices of Acetic acid were decreased during the period. Due to the expected demand from downstream industries during peak festive season, prices remained on a higher side by industries to increase the profit. The prices were assessed at 1494 USD per tonne in China and 1372.61 USD/tonne Ex- Mumbai India.
Europe
The prices showed a steep rise in the European region, with an overall 32% surge in the prices since Q3, due to increase in the prices of raw material from importing countries. The freight charges showcased historic high throughout the quarter, which induced additional cost support to the Ethyl Acetate in the European market. Higher energy values also impacted the prices and production rates were curtailed in European region because of increased energy use in non – commercial / domestic sector during winter season. Ethyl Acetate accessed at 1995 USD/ tonne on CFR basis in Germany, at the end of December.
For the Quarter Ending September 2021
North America
In Q3 2021, Ethyl Acetate prices witnessed a proliferative trajectory in US during the third quarter backed by the upsurge in the feedstock Ethylene and Acetic Acid values in the region. The hike in the pricing trend of Ethyl Acetate was also aided by the robust demand for Ethyl Acetate and its downstream products during this quarter. Additionally, many manufacturers were compelled to shut down their production plants as a repercussion of Ida hurricane in August that further exerted pressure on the Ethyl Acetate market. Hence, improvement in the offtakes from the construction sector along with the tight supplies of feedstock kept the prices of Ethyl Acetate in the upward trend throughout the quarter.
Asia
Asian market of Ethyl Acetate appeared bullish during Q3 due to the robust demand and tight fundamentals that kept the prices of Ethyl Acetate in the upward trend. In China, hike in the prices of Ethyl Acetate was witnessed backed by the supply chain disruption due to the congestion on several ports in China. Moreover, curtailment in the production rates followed by the energy crisis in China further sent ripples to the prices of Ethyl Acetate in this timeframe. In India, spike in the values of Ethyl Acetate was observed supported by the firm demand from the downstream manufacturers and hike in the prices of feedstock. Besides, high freight charges and unavailability of shipping containers further sent ripples to the values of Ethyl Acetate. The prices of Ethyl Acetate in India raised to USD 1396.64/MT in September witnessed an increment of USD 119.02 since July.
Europe
In Europe, prices of Ethyl Acetate witnessed an upward trend backed by its limited availability amid sturdy demand from downstream sectors. Moreover, spike in the prices of feedstock Ethanol and Acetic Acid because of freight charges and lower imports further sent ripples to the values of Ethyl Acetate in this quarter. In addition, promising profit margins were fetched by the manufacturers owing to the strong demand from downstream sectors. For instance, two key suppliers of Ethyl Acetate raised their prices up to 9% during this timeframe backed by the declining import volumes.
For the Quarter Ending June 2021
North America
During the second quarter of 2021, the North American Ethyl Acetate market seemed tight amidst limited availability of the upstream Ethanol and Acetic Acid. Raw material availability was the key issue as Ethanol supplies were majorly diverted towards high prioritized commodities such as hand sanitizers while some turnarounds were reported in the Acetic Acid production facilities. However, demand from the pharma industries remained high, keeping the offtakes of Ethyl Acetate largely uplifted. Pricing trend observed a marginal fall during the start of the quarter but later improved. FOB Texas Ethyl Acetate price in June was assessed at USD 1030 per tonne.
Asia Pacific
The Asian Ethyl Acetate market observed mixed sentiments due to imbalance in the supply and demand of the upstream Acetic Acid because of plant turnarounds at several facilities across the Asia Pacific region. However, the overall supply scenario improved compared to the previous quarter with some tightness observed during the Labour Day holidays in China and global inflationary trend in the upstream crude oil. Prices in India observed an ease initially during the quarter followed by continuous uptrend, taking Ex-Works Mumbai (India) prices in June to USD 1659 per tonne, up by about USD 135 per tonne from the prices seen in late March. Demand from the downstream paints and coatings industries surged in China as the ease in COVID restrictions and improved construction activities supported the enquiries from spot buyers.
Europe
During Q2 2021, the European Ethyl Acetate suppliers reported gradual replenishment in the market supplies. However, some production-related constraints were witnessed due to the curtailed Acetic Acid availability as a major producer was on a turnaround since the last quarter. Market sentiments were raised after backward integration plans of major European producers INEOS and Celanese were revealed. Furthermore, demand was bolstered exponentially due to better material offtakes as enquiries surged from the paints and coating industries to support the recovering automotive sector.
For the Quarter Ending March 2021
North America
Ethyl Acetate supplies in the region remained tight for a larger part of the first quarter as the supplies of feedstock Acetic Acid were limited due to unplanned turnarounds heard across the US Gulf Coast. With its strong diversion towards the pharmaceutical sector, the demand outlook remained firm despite lingering uncertainties in the supply dynamics. The plant outages caused amid the unprecedented freeze weather conditions in the US Gulf region crippled the inventory levels the demand surged as the inventories were running low and the consumption from the downstream sector remained upbeat. The widened supply-demand gap resulted in spiked prices of Ethyl Acetate in the US market, which further forced the local buyers to extend their flexibility towards the Asian stocks.
Asia-Pacific (APAC)
Limited availability of the feedstock Acetic acid pushed up the production cost of several downstream Acetyl producers amid planned shutdowns during the Chinese Lunar New year holidays. The demand however surged from the downstream sector. the supply-demand gap difference followed by the global supply shortages resulted in price uptrend. Inflated shipping costs and container shortages additionally impacted the material movement on the global scale. Exports of Ethyl Acetate from India jumped substantially due to its high global demand, exceeding 8110 KT in February with majority volumes shipped to European countries especially Italy, Belgium and Russia. In India, Ethyl Acetate prices gained by USD 615/tonne within the quarter.
Europe
The European market of Ethyl Acetate improved during the quarter and attained a balanced status, as a major player ended its turnaround and improved the domestic regional supplies, However, some constraints were addressed as Celanese announced a planned turnaround in March, followed by the reduced supplies from the US. The demand however improved as the buying activities improved from the pharma sector amid tightened market conditions due to COVID lockdown in various parts of the region.
For the Quarter Ending September 2020
Asia
Ethyl Acetate supply across Asia was observed getting tighter by the end of the Q3 with the prices gradually increasing due to restricted supply. The spot prices of Ethyl Acetate were observed to be hovering around USD 725/tonne FOB China. Key Chinese producer Jiangmen Handsome Chemical Development shut its 200 KTPA Ethyl Acetate plant in Taixing, Jiangsu in September. In South Korea, Korea Alcohol Industrial also shut its plant for scheduled maintenance. The price of Ethyl Acetate were observed to be steady due to stable demand-supply gap. Exports from China to other Asian countries increased due to increased demand in cleaning and sanitizing industry. Brisk trades pushed up the price of Ethyl Acetate to a seven-month high in September.
North America
North America’s Ethyl Acetate supply continued to fall due to rise in demand of upstream ethanol in hand sanitizer production. With the surge in the number in coronavirus cases, the demand of single use plastics increased that subsequently led to upstream supply concerns. The growing demand coupled with stiff supply pressured the dynamics. The prices of Ethyl Acetate took an all time high due to disrupted demand-supply issues during Q3. In Q4, the demand is expected to regain stability and the supply of the product is also anticipated to reach high levels.
Europe
The European demand of Ethyl Acetate was low due to limited offtakes by the end-users. Extended lockdowns disrupted the demand of the Ethyl Acetate in majorly all the countries of Europe. The prices of raw material were comparatively higher than observed in Q1 and Q2. Due to unattractive prices offered by the overseas nations like India and Brazil, buyers turned favorable towards domestic players. Demand jumped in September but remained shrouded with uncertainties amid looming economy as fears of second coronavirus wave pressured the overall activity.
