European Cyclohexanone Prices Get Major Push from Resurging Textile Industry

From last week's scenario, Cyclohexanone prices in European territories have shown little improvement. With the recovering economy, Eurozone's textile industry has marked modest growth in the week ending October 13.

Cyclohexanone prices have been hovering around USD 1835/MT in the Eurozone in the week ending October 13. Germany Cyclohexanone has registered a value of USD 1850/MT, FD Hamburg, while Italy Cyclohexanone prices have closed at USD 1820/MT, FD Gioia, Tauro. Upstream Benzene and Cyclohexane have been on the downside in terms of prices, while Phenol has been up by 2.4 percent.

The Textile and Garment industry in Vietnam, of which the European Union has been a key exporting market, has shown numerous signs of recovery despite a continuous decrease in export turnover in the first eight months against the same period last year. As per customs data, the country's textile export turnover in the Jan-August period has reached only USD 22.4 billion, compared to USD 3.7 billion last year, a 14% decrease y-o-y. However, on a monthly basis, the textile and garment exports in August have reached USD 3.4 billion, 5.5% up from the previous month, marking the fourth consecutive hike in the current year. EU market has been expected to show copious growth for the Textile market in upcoming months.

However, data have also shown that the export rate of the Turkish textile and raw materials sector, amongst the World's leading textile exporters, decreased by 8.4% in August 2023 and amounted to 973 million dollars. Turkey's textile and raw material exports have decreased by 29% from Jan to September to major market, Italy. Turkey's textile and raw material exports to Germany ranked second, decreased by 18.6%, and amounted to approximately 543 million dollars, which drove a lower price trend for Cyclohexanone last week.

Textile manufacturers from across the global market are still struggling with rising costs and weak demand, according to the latest Global Textile Industry Survey (GTIS) from the International Textile Manufacturers Federation, which might further have an impact on upstream caprolactam and Cyclohexanone demand globally. High prices spread between Caprolactum and Cyclohexanone might lead to a production cut by Cyclohexanone producers.

Moreover, Euratex, the European Apparel and Textile Confederation, and the Spanish Intertextile Council (CIE) have called on the European Union to develop a new competitiveness strategy for the textile industry, which can relaunch the European sector and ensure it will remain competitive in the decades to come. Como, Italy, a center for advanced textile applications, has partnered with Durst Group to offer water-based and sustainable printing technologies.

Easing inflation in the Euro area has contributed to boosting per capita income and an upswing of economic activities. With improving downstream paints and coatings industry, Cyclohexanone demand might be elevated further. Germany has been predicted to see a growth of CAGR of approximately 3.7% in Europe. Nevertheless, challenges have been there, like the Ukraine conflict's uncertainty and elevated retail inflation in developing nations, impacting consumer confidence and the overall Cyclohexanone market.