The isopropanol market fell this week. Last Thursday, the average price of isopropanol in China was 7140 yuan/ton, Thursday’s average price was 6890 yuan/ton, and the weekly average price was 3.5%.

This week, the domestic isopropanol market experienced a decline, which has attracted industry attention. The market’s lightness has further intensified, and the focus of the domestic isopropanol market has significantly shifted downwards. This downward trend is mainly affected by the decrease in upstream acetone and acrylic acid prices, which weakens the cost support for isopropanol. Meanwhile, downstream procurement enthusiasm is relatively low, mainly accepting orders on demand, resulting in low overall market transaction activity. Operators generally adopt a wait-and-see attitude, with reduced demand for inquiries and a slowdown in shipping speed.
According to market data, as of now, the quotation for isopropanol in the Shandong region is about 6600-6900 yuan/ton, while the quotation for isopropanol in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions is about 6900-7400 yuan/ton. This indicates that the market price has declined to a certain extent, and the supply and demand relationship is relatively weak.

In terms of raw acetone, the acetone market also experienced a decline this week. Data shows that the average price of acetone last Thursday was 6420 yuan/ton, while this Thursday’s average price was 5987.5 yuan/ton, a decrease of 6.74% compared to last week. The factory’s price reduction measures on the market have clearly had a negative impact on the market. Although the operating rate of domestic phenolic ketone plants has decreased, the inventory pressure of factories is relatively low. However, market transactions are weak and terminal demand is not active, resulting in insufficient actual order volume.

The acrylic acid market has also been affected by the decline, with prices showing a downward trend. According to statistics, the average price of acrylic acid in Shandong last Thursday was 6952.6 yuan/ton, while this Thursday’s average price was 6450.75 yuan/ton, a decrease of 7.22% compared to last week. The weak demand market is the main reason for this decline, with a significant increase in upstream inventory. In order to stimulate the delivery of goods, the factory has to further reduce prices and carry out warehouse emissions. However, due to cautious downstream procurement and strong market wait-and-see sentiment, demand growth is limited. It is expected that downstream demand will not significantly improve in the short term, and the acrylic acid market will continue to maintain a weak trend.
Overall, the current isopropanol market is generally weak, and the decline in raw material acetone and acrylic acid prices has posed significant pressure on the isopropanol market. The significant decrease in raw material acetone and acrylic acid prices has led to weak overall market support, coupled with weak downstream demand, resulting in poor market trading sentiment. Downstream users and traders have low purchasing enthusiasm and a wait-and-see attitude towards the market, resulting in insufficient market confidence. It is expected that the isopropanol market will continue to be weak in the short term.
However, industry observers believe that although the current isopropanol market is facing downward pressure, there are also some positive factors. Firstly, with the continuous improvement of national environmental requirements, isopropanol, as an environmentally friendly solvent, still has certain growth potential in certain fields. Secondly, the recovery of industrial production both domestically and internationally, as well as the development of emerging fields such as coatings, ink, plastics, and other industries, are expected to boost the isopropanol market. In addition, some local governments are actively promoting the development of isopropanol related industries, injecting new vitality into the market through policy support and innovation guidance.
From the perspective of the international market, the global isopropanol market also faces certain challenges and opportunities. On the one hand, the impact of factors such as fluctuations in international oil prices, geopolitical risks, and uncertainty in the external economic environment on the isopropanol market cannot be ignored. On the other hand, the signing of some international trade agreements and the promotion of regional economic cooperation have provided new opportunities and market development space for the export of isopropanol.
In this context, enterprises in the isopropanol industry need to flexibly respond to market changes, strengthen technological research and development and product innovation, improve product quality and added value, and find new growth points. At the same time, strengthen market research and information collection, timely grasp market trends, and flexibly adjust production and sales strategies to improve market competitiveness.