European Cyclohexane Continues Gaining Strength in April 2024

The European Cyclohexane prices continued to witness a bullish market situation during the latter half of April 2024, with prices witnessing an increment of approximately 2.4%. The German Cyclohexane prices have continued to receive support from the prices of Benzene which have increased by approximately 11% during March 2024. The effects of increases in the prices of Benzene (feedstock of Cyclohexane) have continued to present their effects on the production costs of Cyclohexane.

However, despite a rise being seen in the prices of Cyclohexane across Europe, overall demand conditions continued to remain unfavorable. The construction sector across the Eurozone continued to remain mired in the contraction throughout April 2024 leading to a low demand from the downstream paints and coating sector. The contraction in housing activity, which was once again the lowest-performing of the three categories (residential construction, commercial construction, and civil engineering activities), was the primary cause of the production decline, which accelerated significantly over the month further easing the demand for Cyclohexane. Lackluster demand and a sharp drop in new business were the main causes of the slump.

Input purchasing fell sharply, and the usage of subcontractors was diminished as a result of layoffs and cost-cutting measures. Cost burdens did, however, increase at their slowest rate in the previous five months. Visible contractions in France and Germany, both of which had faster monthly reductions, were the main causes of the eurozone's overall activity decline. The underperforming subsector, the housing sector, continued to hurt overall output, exhibiting the biggest decline in seven months. The current sequences are now two years long because of a decline in activity at commercial and civil engineering firms. The overall slump in the construction sector of the eurozone was mostly driven by weak demand, as evidenced by the decline in new orders in March, with further depreciations anticipated in April.

In April, UK housing sales increased for a seventh straight month. The four weeks leading up to April 21 saw an annual rate of 12% increase in the number of agreed transactions, the most since October 2023. The improvement in consumer confidence, the fall in mortgage rates, and the increased selection of properties available to purchasers all contributed to the sustained upswing in sales.

Overall, prices of Cyclohexane are expected to fluctuate moderately in May 2024 as prices of feedstock Benzene have depreciated nearly 12% during the second half of April 2024, which may continue to affect production costs of Cyclohexane. The demand from the British construction sector is however expected to provide some sort of support to the European Cyclohexane prices.