China's Acetone Market Drops to Year-to-date Low in September

September 29, News

The "Golden September" rally fell short of expectations, and China's acetone market continued its overall downward trend, now hitting a new year-to-date low. Since September 1, the East China acetone market has seen average quotes drop from 4,525 CNY/ton to 4,408 CNY/ton as of September 29, representing a price decrease of 2.58%. Across the country, the acetone market has experienced similar fluctuations of the same magnitude.

From the supply side, during the month, Shenghong Refining, Jiangsu Ruiheng, Longjiang Chemical, and Sinopec Mitsui phenol and acetone facilities all had shutdowns for maintenance of varying durations, under which influence, China's phenol and acetone facility utilization rate dropped to a low point of 66%. Shandong Fuyu Chemical plans to start a 30-day maintenance on September 28, while Ningbo Formosa plans to begin a maintenance lasting around 40 days in mid-October. Contracted import cargoes have been arriving successively, especially with noticeable supplements from Saudi Arabia, while sources from South Korea, Taiwan, China, and Singapore have also been supplementing, though Thai sources may decrease.

From the demand side, the downstream Bisphenol A facility utilization rate is expected to improve, which will boost the demand for acetone. Meanwhile, isopropyl alcohol, MMA, and MIBK plants are seeing slight changes in operating rates, resulting in minimal impact on acetone demand. On the cost side, both the supply and demand for the raw material, pure benzene, have seen modest increases, maintaining a tight balance between supply and demand. As a result, short-term prices are anticipated to remain firm and consolidate.

On September 29, the paraxylene quotations in major markets across China are as follows:[1]