News and Articles

• Industrial-grade DMC averaged $714/MT CFR Rotterdam in early June 2026, down 12.1% quarter-on-quarter.
• China FOB Shenzhen prices settled near $591/MT as restarting facilities at Dongying Haike added volume pressure.
• Battery-sector restocking remains subdued due to elevated inventory, EV chemistry shifts from NMC to LFP, and subsidy uncertainty.
• Methanol and propylene oxide feedstock costs softened in tandem, limiting any supply-side correction.
• Q3 2026 trajectory is rangebound-to-soft; short-term contracts and index-linked pricing are recommended for buyers.

The dimethyl carbonate market entered the second quarter of 2026 in a notably weakened state, with industrial-grade prices trending downward across major trading hubs. In the Netherlands, CFR Rotterdam prices averaged approximately $714 per metric ton by early June, a decline of 12.1% quarter-on-quarter. Chinese export prices tracked a similar trajectory, settling around $591 per metric ton on an FOB Shenzhen basis as domestic inventory levels remained elevated well above historical norms.

The principal driver behind this sustained softness has been a structural oversupply in China's industrial-grade DMC segment. Domestic production capacity has expanded aggressively over the past two years, outpacing current demand recovery in key downstream sectors. Facilities including Dongying Haike and Shida Dongying, which had undergone maintenance shutdowns in April 2026, resumed partial operations by late May, adding further volume pressure to an already saturated market.

The battery sector's subdued appetite for restocking is tied to several converging factors. Global EV sales from China and the United States remain supportive at the macro level, but battery producers have been operating with elevated safety stocks accumulated during earlier supply disruptions. In Europe, a gradual shift in battery chemistry from NMC to LFP formulations has reduced the per-kilowatt-hour DMC content required, trimming incremental demand growth.

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Simultaneously, policy uncertainty around EV subsidies has made procurement managers reluctant to commit to large forward purchases. Trade data for May 2026 showed Chinese DMC exports to Europe and Southeast Asia at near-record monthly volumes, with spot offers arriving at steep discounts to prevailing contract benchmarks. Methanol and propylene oxide input costs softened in parallel, offering producers limited room to cut output in response to falling prices.

For procurement teams, the near-term environment favors shorter contract durations and index-linked pricing where possible. The consensus Q3 2026 outlook among commodity monitors points to a rangebound-to-soft trajectory, with any meaningful recovery contingent on a pickup in battery-sector replenishment. Buyers with exposure to pharmaceutical-grade or high-purity DMC should note that specialty grades retain a modest premium and face tighter availability than the commodity-grade segment.