Since December, the focus of China's acetone market has continued to decline

December 19th, according to reports

The focus of China's acetone market continues to decline, once again reaching a new low for the year. According to monitoring data, from December 1st when the average quotation for the national acetone market was 4,227 CNY/ton, it dropped to 4,087 CNY/ton by December 19th, a price decrease of 3.31%. In the East China acetone market, the negotiation price is 4,050 CNY/ton, a decrease of 1,800 CNY/ton or 30.34% compared to 5,867 CNY/ton in the same period of 2024. Currently, due to inventory pressure and weak sentiment, quotations are gradually becoming more flexible. The low purchasing willingness of end-users has led to actual transactions being concentrated in the lower price range, and sporadic traders offering discounts to sell further lowers the market focus.

Supply-demand dynamics: A balance is being struck between reduced domestic production and imported supplements, yet inventory pressure remains.

1. Supply side: Domestic reduction but offset by imports: The facility utilization rate of Chinese phenol and acetone is below 80%, which is relatively low compared to previous periods. Although domestic supply has decreased year-on-year, the import volume of acetone in East China in December reached 50,000 tons, with 26,000 tons already arrived and 24,000 tons en route. Port inventory remains stable at 24,000 tons, effectively filling the gap caused by the reduction in domestic supply. Overall, there has not been a substantial shortage in supply.

2. Demand side: Mainly rigid demand, limited restocking willingness: The procurement of downstream industries such as bisphenol A, isopropanol, MMA (methyl methacrylate), and MIBK (methyl isobutyl ketone) is mainly based on rigid demand, with limited active market participants for restocking. Among them, the supply-demand contradiction in the MIBK market has intensified, with prices dropping by 300 CNY/ton compared to November, leading to a strong desire to lower the price of raw material acetone. Although the bisphenol A industry has some restocking needs in December, its procurement of acetone is only maintained at the level of rigid demand, making it difficult to provide effective support.

The prices of raw material pure benzene and propylene continue to weaken.

Since 2025, the price of pure benzene has fallen by more than 25% year-on-year, and the price of propylene fell below 6,000 CNY/ton at the end of October, hitting a new low for the year. This has led to a significant weakening of the cost support for phenol and acetone production. The "weak support" on the cost side has left producers with little motivation to raise prices, and instead, they may reduce prices to relieve the pressure of losses.

Holders lack confidence in the future market: On the one hand, they worry that once the imported cargoes currently en route arrive at ports simultaneously, inventories will continue to rise. On the other hand, they anticipate that downstream demand will be unlikely to rebound in the short term, so they tend to adopt a “quick in, quick out” strategy to mitigate risks. Meanwhile, end-user factories, driven by the mentality of “buying when prices rise but not when they fall,” are postponing their procurement plans and waiting for signals that prices will stabilize, thus triggering a negative spiral of “falling prices—wait-and-see demand—accumulating inventories—further price declines.”

December 19th, the acetone quotation situation in major mainstream markets across China is as follows: