Di Isopropyl Ether Prices Surge in Asia Amidst Plant Shutdown

In the initial week of April, the price trend of Di Isopropyl Ether was weak, and prices fell due to dampened demand and consumption levels from downstream Paint producers, which decreased the solvent costs. However, during the second half of April, Di Isopropyl Alcohol prices shifted and showcased bullish movement amid stable availability of supplies and an increase in upstream cost pressure.

Simultaneously Di Isopropyl Ether’s upstream, Acetone supplies were limited from exporters due to decreased operating rates in the Phenol plant amid stressed availability of supplies and sluggish trading activities of upstream Benzene. It affected the production rates of Di Isopropyl Ether. At the same time, an increase in upstream Propylene prices from regional exporters during the second half of the month due to an increase in upstream Naphtha prices after the announced Crude Oil production cuts by OPEC+ and stable demand for Propylene from downstream value chains raised the upstream cost support on the Di Isopropyl Ether.

As per the reports, the Isopropyl Alcohol plant at Huizhou Yussen Chemical in China was under maintenance shutdown during the first half of April. Simultaneously, In India, Deepak Fertilizers and Petrochemical Corporation Limited in Taloja, Maharashtra, with an Isopropyl Alcohol production capacity of 70 KMTPA, was under maintenance shutdown for the whole month of April 2023.

The Di Isopropyl Ether offtakes were moderate, and prices rose marginally during the month. As per the ChemAnalyst data sources, Di Isopropyl Ether prices rose by 2% in China and 1.6% in India during April 2023 and settled at USD 1966/MT and INR 233850/MT in China and India, respectively.

As per the estimation, the Di Isopropyl Ether prices are likely to remain firm in Asia and will increase upward during the mid-quarter of Q2, 2023, due to a reduction in production rates amid various Isopropyl Alcohol plant shutdowns in the Asian region. At the same time, the demand is likely to remain consistent for the solvent in the end-user paint industries during summer.