US Fatty Alcohol Prices Gain Momentum Amidst an Improvement in Terminal Demand

Texas, USA: In the first week of November 2023, the prices of Fatty Alcohol have gained momentum in the US market. With the reinforcement in economic conditions, the inquiries from the downstream surfactant and detergent industries have increased and strengthened the market sentiments of upstream raw materials, such as the value chain of Fatty Alcohol and its derivatives. After a challenging three-month period, the US markets experienced a recovery when the Federal Reserve decided to maintain unchanged interest rates for the second consecutive time.

The ChemAnalyst database has demonstrated that the prices of Fatty Alcohol have shown an increment of USD 30 per ton in the week ending 03rd November. The transactions from the downstream Personal Care industries were reported to be higher than their long-term weak procurement volumes. In addition, weak manufacturing in the previous quarters has also taken a toll on the supply fundamentals of Fatty Alcohol among the manufacturers. However, in October, the US Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) increased to 50.0 from 49.8 in September, indicating that operating conditions are stabilizing and showing a slight improvement in the strength of the manufacturing sector, boosting the market fundamentals of several chemicals, including Fatty Alcohol.

On the other hand, one of the leading manufacturers of personal care products involving Fatty Alcohol, Fatty Acid, Ethoxylated Tridecyl Alcohol, and other derivatives, Procter & Gamble, has announced that it expects to meet the upper range of its sales and profit projections for the year. This optimistic outlook is due to consumers accepting the increased prices of its personal care and cleaning products, allowing the company to surpass its first-quarter predictions. Although repeated price hikes have impacted sales volume, the company stated that the situation is stabilizing and anticipates a gradual improvement in sales throughout the remainder of the year.

In addition, the decline in freight rates from Asia to the West Coast has also decreased by significant numbers. Thus, the Fatty Alcohol manufacturers have procured the upstream raw materials, Palm Oil, from Asian countries at cheaper overall costs, optimizing the Fatty Alcohol production activities across the US market.

According to the pricing intelligence of ChemAnalyst, the prices of Fatty Alcohol might gain momentum in the US market amid an expected recovery in demand from the downstream Personal Care sector. Furthermore, the Federal Reserve's decision to temporarily halt interest rate hikes is expected to help ease the pressures on the manufacturing sector within the regional market. Additionally, despite a recent dip in oil prices, the ongoing Middle East conflict has introduced significant volatility over the past month. Suppose a more extensive conflict were to break out. In that case, there is a possibility that crude oil prices could experience further surges in the upcoming quarter, leading to an upshift in the price realizations of Fatty Alcohol.