Global Methyl Ethyl Ketone prices fluctuate throughout the August

The Methyl Ethyl Ketone market has been witnessing an unstable trend globally. The slash in production and disruption in supply activities pushed up the prices in China. On the other hand, the prices fall in India and Netherlands because of the weak requirement from the downstream market.

Since the third week of August, the Methyl Ethyl Ketone prices are showcasing an uptrend in the local Chinese market. The increasing drought and the power shortage in China due to the extreme heat waves resulted in the low water level in the Yangtze River. Since China depends on hydroelectric power, the decreasing water level disrupts the power supply. Therefore, many manufacturing plants in Sichuan have seen power cuts, resulting in decreased MEK production activities. As a result, the Methyl Ethyl Ketone market is expanding due to the product's restricted supply in the native market and rising demand from importing countries like South Korea. As a result, the price of Methyl Ethyl Ketone increased by 0.8% with a rise of $10 per tonne FOB Qingdao on 26th August.

In India, Methyl Ethyl Ketone prices are under pressure due to the sufficient availability of the product in the domestic market. Moreover, the consumer's purchasing activities are weak, leading to the piling up of the product in the local market, further pulling down the Methyl Ethyl Ketone prices. In addition, the sluggish demand from the manufacturers of the downstream adhesives, thinners, and printing inks led to the weak requirement for Methyl Ethyl Ketone.

Due to the product's wide availability on the domestic market, Methyl Ethyl Ketone prices are also declining in the Netherlands. On August 23, however, the Euro dropped again, which impacted the CFR price of imported raw materials such as n-Butene. Thus, declining values of upstream n-butene led to a decrease in Methyl Ethyl Ketone prices.

According to ChemAnalyst, the price of Methyl Ethyl Ketone might increase in the coming weeks. Zibo Qixing, one of the manufacturing plants of MEK in China, is likely to shut down for maintenance, which might result in a supply shortage. In addition, the rising heat waves and the low water level may affect trade activities and will likely increase the freight charges, inflating the Methyl Ethyl Ketone values.