Acetone and Phenol Prices Under Pressure Amidst Weaker Consumption

Acetone and Phenol, the downstream derivatives of crude oil, settled at relatively lower rates in the first week of March due to slump in demand from major consuming industries. Deepak Phenolics, India’s largest producer of Acetone and Phenol reduced the domestic prices of Phenol by around 4 percent and of Acetone by around 5 per cent to combat with any loss due to bearish buying sentiments of the products in the domestic as well as international market. Another factor for this reduction in prices is to promote the clearance of inventory by the end of the financial year. Prices of these two products are likely to follow the same trend in the coming weeks due to persistent drop in the prices of its feedstock crude oil, followed by low demand due to prolonged Coronavirus Outbreak. Deepak Phenolics, a subsidiary of Deepak Nitrite is primarily engaged in the manufacturing of Acetone and Phenol with a plant capacity of 120KTPA and 200KTPA respectively.