[Industry Focus]：Weak supply and demand, isopropyl alcohol market continued to decline

The isopropanol market fell this week. The average price of isopropanol in China last Thursday was 7140 yuan/ton, the average price on Thursday was 6890 yuan/ton, and the average price during the week was 3.5.

This week, the domestic isopropanol market experienced a decline, causing concern in the industry. The light level of the market has further intensified, and the center of gravity of the domestic isopropanol market has shifted significantly. This downward trend was mainly affected by the decline in the price of acetone and acrylic acid upstream, which weakened the cost support of isopropanol. At the same time, the downstream procurement enthusiasm is relatively low, mainly on-demand orders, resulting in the overall market trading activity is not high. Operators generally hold a wait-and-see attitude, inquiry demand decreased, the speed of shipment slowed down.

According to market data, up to now, the price of isopropanol market in Shandong is about 6600-6900 yuan/ton, while the price of isopropanol market in Jiangsu and Zhejiang is about 6900-7400 yuan/ton. This indicates a certain degree of decline in market prices, supply and demand is relatively weak.

In terms of raw material acetone, the acetone market also fell this week. Data show that the average price of acetone last Thursday was 6420 yuan/ton, while the average price this Thursday was 5987.5 yuan/ton, down 6.74 from last week. Factory-to-market price cuts have clearly had an adverse effect on the market. Although the operating rate of domestic phenolic ketone units has declined, the factory inventory pressure is relatively small. However, weak market transactions and inactive terminal demand resulted in insufficient actual orders.

The acrylic market was also 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 the average price on Thursday was 6450.75 yuan/ton, down 7.22 percent from last week. The weak demand market was the main reason for this decline, with a significant increase in upstream inventories. In order to stimulate the delivery of goods, the factory had to further reduce prices and carry out warehouse emissions. However, demand growth was limited due to cautious downstream procurement and strong wait-and-see sentiment in the market. It is expected that the downstream demand will be difficult to improve significantly in the short term, and the acrylic acid market will continue to maintain a weak trend.

On the whole, the current isopropanol market as a whole is weak, and the decline in the prices of raw materials acetone and acrylic acid has put greater pressure on the isopropanol market. The sharp decline in the prices of raw materials acetone and acrylic acid led to weak support in the overall market, coupled with weak downstream demand, market trading sentiment is poor. Downstream users and traders have low purchasing enthusiasm, hold a wait-and-see attitude towards the market, and lack of market confidence. It is expected that in the short term, the isopropanol market will continue to be weak.

However, some industry observers believe that although the current isopropyl alcohol market is facing downward pressure, there are also some positive factors. First of all, with the continuous improvement of national environmental protection requirements, isopropanol, as an environmentally friendly solvent, still has a certain growth potential in some areas. Secondly, the recovery of industrial production at home and abroad and the development of emerging fields, such as coatings, inks, plastics and other industries, are expected to boost the isopropanol market. In addition, some local governments are also 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 is also facing certain challenges and opportunities. On the one hand, the impact of international oil price fluctuations, geopolitical risks and the uncertainty of 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, companies in the isopropanol industry need to flexibly respond to market changes, strengthen technology 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, keep abreast of market trends, and flexibly adjust production and sales strategies to improve market competitiveness.