During the second half of 2024, the global hexanoic acid market showed varied trends with an overall bearish bias. The Asian markets started to slide down due to weak demand from the downstream sector and decreasing raw material costs. The inventory levels at the major ports remained high, and the markets took a cautious stance, resulting in lower purchases. The markets received a temporary boost due to increased tensions in the Middle East region, but this also didn’t last long as crude oil and benzene prices declined, putting pressure on the markets.
In the European markets, the trends followed the same pattern with excess supply and weak industrial demand putting pressure on the markets to slide down. The geopolitical tensions and production changes in the OPEC+ region had a negligible impact on balancing the markets, and inventory levels increased throughout the region.
In North America, prices for hexanoic acid followed similar patterns to those globally. Higher domestic production, combined with low petrochemicals demand, resulted in inventory accumulation. Poor feedstock prices prevented further gains, while seasonal demand at the year-end only provided temporary support to prices. Overall, the market was relatively soft with limited volatility.