Contrary to the Global Market, China's Carbon Black Price Remains Dull in July 2022

Carbon Black prices have been on an uptrend since the start of July 2022, as the high upstream value has been pressuring the domestic price of the product amidst improving offtakes from the domestic market. As per the recent assessment, a significant price hike was observed in the Carbon Black price during July 2022 across major Asian, European, and North American countries, except China.

The data shows a significant hike of around 6% last month, supported by ample offtakes from the domestic automotive sector amidst prolonged high input costs. As per the intel, the Indian automotive sector has shown momentous improvement in automotive sales, especially from passenger vehicles (PVs) and commercial vehicle (CVs) segment during July 2022, which remained a major driving factor for the Carbon Black market in India.

Contrary to other Asian economies, China remained disturbed due to the repercussion of prolonged pandemic-related restrictions in the country. Thus, under these market scenarios, Carbon Black prices demonstrated a fall of around 2% in the meantime. China's automotive industry has been slow since the pandemic hit, while lengthy lockdown restrictions have adversely impacted the country's economy. Thus, the looming threat of an economic slowdown compelled traders and manufacturers to maintain overall price stability to sustain offtakes from niche buyers.

In Europe, recent price increments by key manufacturers like Cabot have affected the price trend of the product in the European market, as continuous high energy value coupled with high upstream crude oil value. Data Shows that around 2-3% increments have been observed for Carbon Black in Russia and Germany during a similar timeframe. At the same time, demand dynamics remained a matter of concern as the region has been leaning towards recession.

As per the ChemAnalyst analysis, Carbon Black prices are likely to remain sturdy in the Indian market, as the demand for the product is likely to improve further under the optimism of the coming festive season in the country. Furthermore, slowed economic activities in China may keep pressuring prices in the local market.