This Week, China's Acetone Market Hits Bottom and Rebounds Slightly

October 24th News

After the National Day holiday, the Chinese acetone market continued its downward trend, reaching a new low for the year. This week, the acetone market bottomed out and rebounded slightly. The acetone market in East China reported an average price of 4120 CNY/ton on October 17th, and by October 24th, the price had risen to 4230 CNY/ton, an increase of 2.67%.

From the supply side, as the market continued to decline, the terminal market saw some release. At this time, Zhejiang Petrochemical announced a plant maintenance schedule for its Phase II operations in November and December. Driven by this news, traders clearly pushed up prices, leading to a rapid increase in the market. Currently, the listed prices of Sinopec in East China and North China have fallen to 4,200 CNY/ton. The October shipment statistics for phenol in East China are 33,000 tons, and the November in-transit cargo is 14,500 tons.

From the demand side, as the market price gradually fell to a low point earlier, terminal factories and traders have entered the market to replenish their stocks. There is an expectation of increased facility utilization rates for downstream bisphenol A, which will lead to an increase in the demand for acetone; the operating loads for isopropanol, MMA, and MIBK have seen minor changes, so the demand for acetone remains largely stable. From the cost perspective, the supply and demand for raw material benzene have both slightly increased, continuing a situation where supply is less than demand, leading to an expectation of relatively strong short-term prices.

On October 24, the acetone quotations in major mainstream markets across China were as follows: