In May, the focus of the domestic acetone market mainly fell. The acetone market in East China has been trading at an average price of 5750 yuan/ton since May 1st, but has dropped to 5450 yuan/ton on May 30th, a decrease of 5.22%. From the perspective of the national acetone market, there is an equally significant downward space.

Crude oil fell sharply in the first half of the year, causing the market to bottom out and rebound. The acetone market quickly rebounded after falling. After the May Day holiday, crude oil fell below the 60 mark during the holiday season, and pure benzene fell sharply. Affected by the negative impact of raw material costs, acetone traders were under pressure and reported a downward trend. The entire petrochemical industry chain products showed varying degrees of decline. After approaching 5500 yuan/ton, downstream terminal factories digested their inventory during the holiday and accelerated their procurement pace, causing acetone to hit the bottom and rebound, which further boosted the rapid increase of acetone. During this period, petrochemical companies concentrated on raising their listing prices, and the market had limited low-level supply. Acetone rose to a high of 5850 yuan/ton in mid month.
Demand is difficult to sustain, and the market continues to bottom out in the latter half of the year. In the latter half of the year, terminal factories continued to replenish goods on demand, with little upstream fluctuations and a lukewarm market atmosphere. Actual orders were mostly small, and traders had little intention of lowering their prices. The overall market activity was low, and negotiations were deadlocked.
As the end of the month approaches, there will be little positive news in the later stage, and the overall market is in a downward trend. At the end of the month, the market fell to the lowest point of the month, and negotiations in the East China region are at 5450 yuan/ton.
The acetone offers in major mainstream markets across the country on May 30th are as follows:
Region. May 30th quotation /May’s ups and downs
East China region / 5450./ -150
Shandong region / 5600./ -150
Yanshan region / 5600./ -200
South China region / 5550./ -200

In terms of equipment in May, the first and second phase phenol ketone units of Huizhou Zhongxin were shut down and switched on May 6th, and the 350000 tons/year phenol ketone unit of Zhongsha Tianjin Petrochemical was shut down on April 21st, with an expected maintenance period of 45 days; Shandong Fuyu 250000 tons/year phenol ketone plant will shut down from May 18th to 27th; The 150000 tons/year phenol ketone plant of Blue Star Harbin will shut down for one week at the end of the month.
It is expected to continue to operate weakly in June. From the supply side, the Zhenhai Refining and Chemical Phenol Ketone Plant plans to produce products in late June, resulting in an increase in domestic acetone supply. From the perspective of imports, Saudi Arabia’s facilities have been shut down for maintenance, Middle Eastern sources are limited, and Thailand’s import resources are normal. Currently, it appears that the import volume has slightly decreased. From the perspective of demand, downstream bisphenol A and isopropanol units have been improved, but overall procurement is still mainly based on demand. From a cost perspective, the external environment remains weak, and pure benzene is expected to continue to decline, making it difficult to support acetone. It is expected that the acetone market will continue to operate weakly in June.