Acrylic acid: Regional price trend
India: Domestic Kandla and Mumbai
Acrylic acid prices have fallen across India, China and Europe despite a firming propylene market, reflecting weak downstream demand and cautious inventory buying.
With propylene and propylene oxide showing early signs of recovery, producers face rising feedstock costs and tighter margins.
Any further feedstock strength could slow the decline in acrylic acid prices.
Domestic acrylic acid values in India have been on an almost uninterrupted downward path since the first week of June. Kandla-based pricing has slipped from the $2.19/kg range to roughly $1.59/kg by early July, a decline of close to 27 per cent, while Mumbai-based pricing has followed an almost identical path, easing by close to 28 per cent. The pace of decline visibly accelerated between the third and fourth weeks of June, when converters pulled back further on fresh buying and worked down existing inventories rather than committing to new volumes.
China: FOB market
China’s FOB acrylic acid market has also trended lower, though the magnitude of the correction has been comparatively milder than in India. Values have eased from around $1.14/kg in early June to just under $0.95/kg by the first week of July, a decline of approximately 18 per cent. Buyers in the region continue to operate on a need-based basis, keeping inventories lean and limiting exposure to further downside.
Europe: FOB Rotterdam
The European market has seen a comparatively shallower correction of around 11 per cent since early June, and pricing has largely held steady over the most recent trading sessions. Feedstock producers in the region appear to be making a deliberate effort to defend current levels even though downstream demand remains muted, suggesting that further near-term downside may be limited unless buying interest deteriorates further.
A common thread across all three regions is that downstream manufacturers are continuing to operate on an order-driven basis, replenishing only what is needed to cover confirmed requirements rather than building forward cover. This cautious purchasing pattern has been the principal factor keeping acrylic acid values under pressure through the period reviewed.
Feedstock watch: Propylene firms on downstream pull
Propylene, the common feedstock for acrylic acid, propylene oxide and polypropylene, is showing early signs of a shift in tone. While most regional markers remain well below the levels seen in mid-May, several of them have started to stabilise or edge higher on a week-on-week basis. Between June 26 and July 3, CFR China values rose marginally, FOB Korea firmed fractionally, and FD US Gulf pricing advanced by more than 3 percent, even as CFR Southeast Asia continued to soften.
The firmer undertone in propylene is being attributed to resilient offtake from downstream polymer streams, particularly polypropylene, whose derivatives feed into a wide span of end-use sectors including textiles and nonwoven fabrics, flexible and rigid packaging, automotive components, consumer durables, and construction materials. As polypropylene converters continue to draw on available feedstock, producers have found room to hold or lift offer levels even in an otherwise soft petrochemical environment. For acrylic acid producers, this creates a margin squeeze: Raw material costs are no longer falling in step with, or in some cases are moving against, the direction of their own finished-product pricing.
Regional sentiment
Sentiment across the three tracked acrylic acid markets remains broadly cautious, though the intensity and pace of the correction differ by region, as summarised below alongside the firming tone building on the feedstock side.
Propylene oxide: An early rebound
Propylene oxide, a second major derivative of propylene, spent much of the May-to-June period in steady decline, with FOB China values falling from around $1.39/kg in mid-May to roughly $1.13/kg by early July, a drop of about 18.5 per cent on a broader weekly comparison and around 12 per cent between June 19 and July 3 alone. In the most recent trading days leading up to July 9, however, the market has reversed course, with prices moving up from approximately $1.114 to $1.134/kg, an increase of close to approx. 2 per cent.
This uptick reinforces the broader picture of a feedstock chain that is beginning to firm even as acrylic acid itself remains under downward pressure, and it adds further weight to the view that raw material costs are becoming a growing constraint for acrylic acid producers going forward.
Value chain in context
Propylene sits at the head of a broad petrochemical value chain, with acrylic acid, propylene oxide and polypropylene representing its three principal derivative routes. Each of these stream’s feeds into a distinct, though occasionally overlapping, set of end-use industries, which is why demand conditions in seemingly unrelated sectors, such as hygiene products, automotive interiors or packaging, can influence feedstock availability and cost for acrylic acid producers.
Latest update on market
Iran’s Hormuz closure threat raises global supply risks
Iran’s announcement to close the Strait of Hormuz has significantly heightened supply disruption risks across global energy and commodity markets. The move could disrupt the flow of nearly one-fifth of global crude oil and a major share of LNG exports, while tightening sulphur, ammonia, fertiliser and petrochemical feedstock supplies from the Middle East. As a result, crude oil, LNG, sulphur and fertiliser prices are expected to remain supported, alongside higher freight rates and war-risk insurance premiums.
Company Update
Axens has acquired Air Liquide’s Lurgi Methanol-to-Propylene (MTP™) technology, strengthened its methanol-to-olefins portfolio and expanded alternative routes for propylene production. The acquisition enhances feedstock flexibility beyond conventional refinery and steam-cracking sources while complementing Axens’ sustainable fuel technologies. Over the long term, wider adoption of MTP technology could improve propylene supply resilience, reduce dependence on crude-linked feedstocks, and influence production economics across the acrylic acid, propylene oxide, and polypropylene value chains.
ALCHEMPro News Desk (VK)
