In the third quarter, most of the products in China’s acetone industry chain showed a fluctuating upward trend. The main driving force of this trend is the strong performance of the international crude oil market, which in turn has driven the strong trend of the upstream raw material market, especially the sustained significant increase in the pure benzene market. In this situation, the cost side of the acetone industry chain dominates the price increase, while acetone import sources are still scarce, the phenol ketone industry has low operating rates, and spot supply is tight. These factors together support the strong performance of the market. During this quarter, the high-end price of acetone in the East China market was approximately 7600 yuan per ton, while the low-end price was 5250 yuan per ton, with a price difference of 2350 yuan between the high and low end.

Let’s review the reasons why the domestic acetone market continued to rise in the third quarter. In early July, the policy of levying consumption tax on some gasoline raw materials kept the prices of raw materials firm, and the performance of pure benzene and propylene was also very strong. The downstream markets for bisphenol A and isopropanol have also experienced varying degrees of increase. Under the overall warm environment, the domestic chemical market has generally seen an increase. Due to the low load of the 650000 ton phenol ketone plant in Jiangsu Ruiheng and the tight supply of acetone, the suppliers holding the goods have strongly increased their prices. These factors have jointly driven the strong rise of the market. However, starting from August, downstream demand has started to weaken, and businesses have shown signs of weakness in driving up prices, and there has been a trend of giving up profits. Nevertheless, due to the strong market for pure benzene, Ningbo Taihua, Huizhou Zhongxin, and Bluestar Harbin phenol ketone plants are undergoing maintenance. Jiangsu Ruiheng’s 650000 ton phenol ketone plant unexpectedly stopped on the 18th, which has had a positive impact on market sentiment and businesses’ willingness to give up profits is not strong. Under the interweaving of various factors, the market is mainly characterized by interval fluctuations.

After entering September, the market continued to exert strength. The continuous rise of the international crude oil market, the strong trend of the overall environment, and the growth of the raw material pure benzene market have led to a general increase in the products of the phenolic ketone industry chain. The continuous strength of the downstream bisphenol A market has driven good demand for acetone, and suppliers holding goods have taken this opportunity to increase prices and drive further market growth. In addition, the port inventory is not high, and Wanhua Chemical and Bluestar Phenol Ketone plants are undergoing maintenance. The spot supply continues to be tight, with downstream mainly passively following up on demand. These factors have jointly driven the continued rise in market prices. As of the end of the third quarter, the closing price of the East China acetone market was 7500 yuan per ton, an increase of 2275 yuan or 43.54% compared to the end of the previous quarter.

However, it is expected that further gains in the acetone market in East China may be hindered in the fourth quarter. At present, the inventory of acetone ports is low, and the overall supply is slightly tight, with prices relatively firm. However, it may be difficult for the cost side to have a strong push again. Especially after entering the fourth quarter, the production of new phenolic ketone units will be concentrated, and the supply will increase significantly. Although the profit margin of phenolic ketones is good, except for enterprises undergoing routine maintenance, other enterprises will maintain high load production. However, most new phenolic ketone units are equipped with downstream bisphenol A units, so the external sales of acetone by downstream enterprises using it are relatively small. Overall, it is expected that in the early fourth quarter, the domestic acetone market may fluctuate and consolidate; But as supply increases, the market may turn weak in the later stages.