Acetaldehyde Price Trend and Forecast

Regional Price Overview

Get the latest insights on price movement and trend analysis of Acetaldehyde in different regions across the world (Asia, Europe, North America, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa).

Acetaldehyde Price Trend for the First Half of 2023

Asia

The Asian acetaldehyde market exhibited mixed price patterns tottering on the lower side during the said period. The major reason for lowered trends was the decline in demand from downstream construction and the pharma sector because of already overstocked inventories, especially in the Chinese domestic market. Feedstock prices were also unable to provide relevant cost support, instead creating additional cost pressure.

Reduced freight prices also contributed to the price dips. So, reduced upstream costs and dull demands drove the price trends. Some fluctuations were noticed during the quarter change, but general market sentiments were shallow and shaky. On the contrary, production in the Indian market was still somewhat stable due to ongoing industrial expansion, but here too, prices were riddled, and demand driven.

Europe

Mixed price sentiments for Acetaldehyde were observed in the European market in the first half of 2023. Initially, at the beginning of the first quarter, prices showed an upward inclination, majorly because of the inflationary pressure the European economies were struggling with.

However, in the middle of Q1, statistics reversed as the freight situations improved and cheap Asian imports got better access to the European market. In the second quarter, weak downstream demands dominated Acetaldehyde price sentiments. As availability increased and demands decreased, prices started levitating towards the lower side and continued fluctuating in the same manner throughout the discussed period.

North America

The North American acetaldehyde market also exhibited mixed patterns in the first two quarters of 2023. Prices depended greatly on feedstock ethylene prices. The prices showed a positive upward inclination in the first quarter while they shifted gears with the onset of the second quarter. The prices suffered with the dwindling demands and saturated market inventories.

Analyst Insight

According to the Procurement Resource, acetaldehyde prices are expected to continue with mixed price behaviour, as both the upstream costs (feedstock) and downstream demand will likely remain unsettled.

Acetaldehyde Price Trend for the Second Half of 2022

Asia

Acetaldehyde price trends in Asia showed a very mixed pattern. While end-consumer demand drove acetaldehyde prices in India, manufacturing hurdles because of zero covid policies remained the determining factor in the case of Chinese acetaldehyde market trends. In India, Q3 witnessed a rise but Q4 witnessed both a rise and a fall, demands went up a little during the festive season because of the preservative and flavouring industries. But Chinese market remained sluggish attributed to low production activities for acetaldehyde aided by consistently low market demands.

Europe

After a strong run in the first half of 2022, the acetaldehyde prices in the second half maintained a downward inclination for a good amount of time. A drop in feedstock ethanol prices and a major drop in market demand consequently facilitated the deceleration of acetaldehyde price trends. Supply chain disruptions didn’t affect the prices initially as the inventory stocks were able to cater to the sullen demands, but as the year-end approached feedstock costs impacted the price trends and pushed the acetaldehyde market up a little bit. Higher inflation and freight disruptions had an impact on the upstream costs. Overall, a mixed-price sentiment was observed for acetaldehyde.

North America

The North American market showed a very fluctuating behaviour of acetaldehyde price trends. Overall, a slightly wavering, but steady demand pattern was observed, so the feedstock ethanol prices and availability determined the acetaldehyde prices. Whenever the feedstock became limiting, prices took a high hit, and whenever ample availability and subdued demand were observed, prices fell. High inflation and constricted supply chains became the major reasons for hindrance in feedstock supply occasionally. Overall, acetaldehyde market trends in North America stayed afloat.

Analyst insight

According to Procurement Resource, the aldehyde market is expected to observe a mixed market sentiment. An almost stable downstream demand pattern is expected, and feedstock ethanol prices and availability will determine the price trends for Acetaldehyde.

Acetaldehyde Price Trend For the First Half of 2022

Asia

The surging crude oil prices during the first quarter affected the petrochemical industry heavily. Acetaldehyde prices soared in the Asian market as feedstock ethylene and ethanol prices rose drastically owing to supply side shortages and trade bottlenecks. Despite the high upstream costs, the demand from the downstream industries like paints and dyes remained robust, supporting the higher prices in the market.

However, under these constraints, the petrochemical industry collapsed in the second quarter. Reduced buyers’ confidence in the market and muted demand led to over piling of inventories forcing the sellers to sell at lower prices to make room for new production. The feedstock ethylene and ethanol cost averaged 1166-1176 USD/MT CFR Northeast Asia and 7150 RMB/MT, respectively, in the second quarter.

Europe

The economic backlash unleashed in the European region owing to the Russian-Ukrainian geopolitical stance triggered an acute energy crisis. The surging oil and gas prices, trade restrictions, heightened freight costs, and solid downstream demand kept acetaldehyde prices afloat in the European market. The acetaldehyde prices averaged 1430 USD/MT CFR France during the first quarter.

The prices remained strong even in the second quarter, owing to the inflated costs of feedstock ethylene and ethanol. The European embargo on Russian oil, retaliatory sanctions, and lowered exports from Asian nations tripped the price trends for Acetaldehyde towards the higher side of the scale. Feedstock ethylene and ethanol prices averaged 1759-1768 USD/MT FD Northwest Europe and 1.3 USD/litre, respectively, in the European domestic arena.

North America

Acetaldehyde prices followed the same price trends as the European market. The limited availability of feedstock, lower imports, trade bottlenecks, and heightened freight costs amid the booming end-user demand caused the prices to rise drastically. The feedstock ethanol price averaged 0.8 USD/litre in the second quarter.

Procurement Resource provides latest prices of Acetaldehyde. Each price database is tied to a user-friendly graphing tool dating back to 2014, which provides a range of functionalities: configuration of price series over user defined time period; comparison of product movements across countries; customisation of price currencies and unit; extraction of price data as excel files to be used offline.