Nonylphenol Ethoxylates Market Faces Challenges Amid Economic Uncertainties and Weak Demand

Hamburg, Germany: In the first week of November 2023, the prices of Nonylphenol Ethoxylates have gained downward momentum in Germany's domestic market. Throughout the past month, the average demand for Nonylphenol Ethoxylates from the downstream Personal Care industries has dominated the market sentiments. The German economy has been battered by high energy costs, which are still higher than their average levels. Moreover, in addition to the adverse effects of high energy prices and economic instability resulting from the crisis in Ukraine, European economies have been affected by geopolitical tensions arising from the conflict in Israel and a slowdown in global trade that has impacted major exporters of various commodities, including Nonylphenol Ethoxylates.

The ChemAnalyst database has demonstrated that the prices of Nonylphenol Ethoxylates have plummeted by USD 40 per ton in the week ending 03rd November. The pace of transactions from the downstream surfactant and detergent industries has remained on the lower end, deteriorating the market performance of the key Nonylphenol Ethoxylates manufacturers. According to the financial result of the third quarter released by one of the leading manufacturers of Nonylphenol Ethoxylates, Dow Chemical's Net sales for the current period amounted to $10.7 billion, marking a significant 24% decrease compared to the same period last year. This decline was observed across all operating segments and attributed to the sluggish global macroeconomic conditions.

Furthermore, the European Central Bank (ECB) has maintained its three key interest rates due to concerns that the 20-nation Eurozone may have entered a recession. The ECB had increased its baseline interest rate ten times in an effort to mitigate the effects of record-high inflation. Inflation reached its peak of 10.6 percent late last year and decreased to 4.3 percent in September. However, it remains above the ECB's official target of 2 percent.

On the other hand, the demand for Nonylphenol Ethoxylates has not improved in Chinese markets even after the completion of the Golden Week Holidays. Over the past few weeks, there has been a consistent decline in downstream surfactant and detergent demand, marked by certain Nonylphenol Ethoxylates manufacturers decreasing their production capacities. This has resulted in a decreased pace of market transactions for upstream raw materials, including Nonylphenol Ethoxylates.

According to the pricing intelligence of ChemAnlyst, the downturn in Nonylphenol Ethoxylates demand might accelerate in the middle of the fourth quarter of 2023 and negatively impact the pricing dynamics of Nonylphenol Ethoxylates among the manufacturers. As per the market players, if Nonylphenol Ethoxylate production does not stabilize, there are risks of a further decline in volumes, and a stronger price reduction might be witnessed in the forthcoming weeks.