Hamburg, Germany: In the first week of April 2023, the prices of Fatty Alcohol have been observed to be on the upper edge across the European region. The prolonged inflation and the unstable input prices, which have significantly slowed the market expansion of Fatty Alcohol, have shown indications of settling down in late Q1 2023. Additionally,  the removal of China’s Zero Covid Policy has boosted trade activities with other nations as the cross-border flows from China have picked up and strengthened the market fundamentals of Fatty Alcohol across the regional markets. On the other hand, the decision taken by OPEC+ members to limit the production of Crude oil has elevated the price pressures on certain specialty chemicals, including Fatty Alcohol.

The ChemAnalyst database has shown that the Fatty Alcohol prices have demonstrated an inclination of approximately USD 40 per ton on the week ending 7th April compared to the prices observed in the last week of the first quarter. With plateauing inflationary pressures, driven by falling energy prices, an improvement in Fatty Alcohol market transactions has been observed. On the upstream front, the limited Palm Oil supplies have also contributed to the upshift observed in the price realizations of Fatty Alcohol. In addition, the increased wage demand has further fumed the tight labor conditions in the domestic region.

Furthermore, According to market sources, widespread railway track rehabilitation might start in the German region in the upcoming months. The market players were cautious that this would result in a supply crunch for various raw materials and finished goods. One of the Specialty chemicals manufacturers, Evonik, emphasized that without dependable transportation alternatives, manufacturing firms would have to reduce output or shut down.

As per the pricing intelligence of ChemAnalyst, the prices of Fatty Alcohol might sustain an upward trajectory in the European market. The rising Crude Oil prices have compounded the market challenges concerning the direction of inflation and the appropriate amount of interest rate increase to maintain market balance.