German Tertiary Butyl Alcohol Prices to witness Stagnancy, Despite Weak Downstream Demand

After a persistent dip in the previous month, Tertiary Butyl Alcohol (TBA) prices have shown a Stagnancy with a marginal increase of 0.8% in the German market during the week ending 2nd September. The primary factor for the price rebounded was the high production costs of Tertiary Butyl Alcohol amid mounting natural gas value across the European market.

Although, speculation of inflation across Europe has dampened the demand from the downstream solvent industries. According to market sources, the inflation rate in Germany rose from 8.5% to 8.8% in September.

Moreover, Germany is one of the major exporters of Tertiary Butyl Alcohol to other European countries and has faced major unavailability of trucks and drivers due to AdBlue shortage and labor unrest. According to market sources, the cargoes have been waiting in line for several days to get loaded and unloaded; the average delay time has been increasing by approximately 15 to 36 hours, resulting in supply chain disruption across the European market.

At the same time, high temperature and scant rainfall drained water levels in the Rhine River, Germany's commercial artery, causing delays to be shipping and pushing transport costs up. The disruption has hit the economic growth in Germany.

Besides, the market value of raw material Acetone has been improving for the last two weeks, which has further supported the Tertiary Butyl Alcohol prices to follow the upward Stagnancy. Hence, as of result, prices of Tertiary Butyl Alcohol were at USD 1220/Tonne in the previous week.

According to ChemAnalyst estimation, "Tertiary Butyl Alcohol prices will further follow the upward trajectory in the German market owing to the high cost of the raw material. Besides, the water level in the Rhine River is likely to decrease, affecting trade activities and may result in a continuous increase in freight charges. Meanwhile, demand from the downstream solvent industries will likely improve, intensifying the market value even more.