SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Asia’s isopropanol (IPA)
market snapped a four-week downtrend as
upstream acetone spiked on tightened supply
from turnarounds.
Discussions are expected to start afresh this
week as suppliers revised their strategies and
buyers check their existing inventories.
ICIS data in the week ended 5 June saw
southeast (SE) Asia prices at $1,340/tonne CFR
(cost & freight) SE Asia, up $15/tonne week
on week, as acetone values rose 10% over the
same period to $1,055/tonne CFR CMP (China Main
Ports).
“With the rising cost of feedstock acetone
prices, we are offering higher,” said a
northeast Asian-based supplier. The supplier
revised up its offers late last week.
Some initial offers last week were at
$1,250/tonne FOB (free on board) NE Asia were
updated to around $1,280/tonne FOB NE Asia.
Several ongoing negotiations were abruptly
halted as suppliers deemed the discussions too
low as worries emerged about how much feedstock
acetone has risen during the week.
Acetone importers continued to be concerned
about the pending start-up of Zhejiang
Petrochemicals plant in China and the restart
of Petro Rabigh’s plant in Saudi Arabia within
June.
In southeast Asia, IPA prices rose by a
whopping 82.6% in seven weeks from late March
during the height of panic buying.
It was also partly because there were very
limited cargoes to the region as Asian supplier
redirected their cargoes to deep-sea regions
such as Europe on attractive margins.
Amid the coronavirus pandemic around the world
since the beginning of this year, IPA prices
had risen sharply on strong demand and had
opened the arbitrage window from Asia to
Europe.
IPA’s main use was seen in the manufacturing of
disinfectants including hand sanitisers and
rubbing alcohols.
Other downstream sectors include the inks,
paints and coatings sectors, which would also
play a huge role in demand.
Focus article by Yuanlin Koh
Visit the ICIS Coronavirus
topic page for analysis of the impact
on chemical markets and links to latest
news.
