European Ethanolamine Prices Plunge Amid Stagnant Construction Sector, Middle East Market Face Resurgence

The European Ethanolamine market continued its downtrend during September on the back of economic uncertainty. Moreover, the European Union's construction industry faced several challenges in September, including high interest rates and rising building costs, which led to stagnation in the sector. The downstream construction industry ultimately shows no improvement in the growth, which resulted in less offtakes of Ethanolamine during this timeframe. However, the Middle East market revied during September after the summer recess as the traders showcased enthusiasm in the procurement of Ethanolamine, which resulted in a decent uptick in the prices.

The downward trend has persisted in the Ethanolamine German market to settle at USD 887/MT Monoethanolamine FD Hamburg during September, followed by the previous market sentiments. The construction sector's continual muted demand for Ethanolamine has deteriorated even further during this timeframe. As per Eurostat, the German production index in construction fell by -2.4% in August to settle at 110.7, which showcased similar market sentiments for September as well. Moreover, the weaker demand across the sector, including customer uncertainty to procure the Ethanolamine, has further supported the price trend. On the other side, high-cost feedstock Ammonia and Ethylene oxide prices surged the production cost of their derivative products. Still, the prices of Ethanolamine remained unaffected as no new inquiries fell for a product during this timeframe. The provided data further support the statement, as the Industrial Producer's Prices in the European market improved sharply to 0.6% in August and thus affected the consumption of goods for September to showcase less enthusiasm.

On the contrary, the price of Ethanolamine in the UAE surged during September due to a combination of factors, including higher production costs in Saudi Arabia, expensive imports, and a revived market in the Middle East region. The UAE, a prominent Ethanolamine importer from Saudi Arabia, mostly relies on this country to fulfill its domestic demand. Therefore, the increased price of Ethanolamine in Saudi Arabia due to higher production costs led the market of UAE to showcase an uptrend as the expensive cargoes have been delivered at the ports of UAE during this timeframe. Along with this, the economic factors further supported the price trend as the Middle East market was revitalized following the summer recess, and according to the reports by the government of Dubai, a rise in CPI by 0.5% in the preceding month made the consumers to accept the goods and services at a marginally higher rate.

In conclusion, September was a month of contrast for the global market of Ethanolamine. The German market persisted in muted demand amid the stagnant construction sector, while the Middle East market demonstrated resilience on the back of expensive imports. As per ChemAnalyst, the global market of Ethanolamine may face a rise due to the announcement of Dow's Chemical for a price increment for Ethanolamine effective from 1 October 2023.