Epichlorohydrin prices in the Asia Pacific softens due to diffused feedstock cost pressure

The second week of April saw prices of Propylene in the Asia Pacific region dip across most countries on the back of an ease-up in the prices of crude oil. Epichlorohydrin (ECH) prices in the Asia Pacific region have been on the rise throughout the month of March before seeing an eventual dip in the last week of March as prices of upstream propylene eased up by the third week of March.

Downstream demand from the synthetic glycerine and Epoxy resin industries has been steady through March. Chinese ECH prices have seen a dip during the week ending 15th of April, making short gains in spot trade in the previous week. Thailand too had seen a similar trend with Aditya Birla Chemicals revising their offers upward for the month of April in expectation of higher feedstock prices as was the case in the last week of March.

Spot prices, however did not reflect the cost-push by producers as prices of ECH started to fall in the third week of April as the crude oil market in the prior two weeks did not perform as was expected by the manufacturers. India’s benchmark CFR JNPT price for April had been revised downward by ChemAnalyst’s market intelligence unit in hindsight as the feedstock market had been rather lackadaisical, contrary to the previously forecasted trend for both the energy and feedstock markets.

The month of May could see prices falling further in the Asia Pacific region as a relaxation in feedstock prices is expected. Demand is also expected to stagnate by the mid-quarter after peaking out last week, as the month of April is generally the shoulder month, when there are planned turnarounds for maintenance in the Asia-Pacific region due to which supply is constrained. The prices of Epichlorohydrin are expected to remain range-bound for the month of April between USD 3015/MT to USD 3150/MT as per ChemAnalyst’s assessment.