Glycol Ether Prices in Europe Hold Steady as Demand and Supply Reach Equilibrium

The Glycol Ether price trend remained stable during the week, and quotations remained unchanged by producers. The Glycol Ether supplies were sufficient to cater to the market demand, and the offtakes remained moderate from regional and international buyers. The consistent demand for Glycol Ether from cosmetics and personal care product manufacturers led to increased market offtakes. In contrast, the uptake of Glycol Ether by paint manufacturers remained slow. At the same time, the annual inflation of the Euro area is expected to be 2.5% in June 2024, down from 2.6% in May. The demand for Glycol Ether fell from paint manufacturers due to reduced consumption of paints from the construction sector. The downturn in the construction sector was prominent as the housing market prices fell by 5.7% year-on-year. Major cities saw the steepest declines, with single and two-family homes dropping by 9.5% and apartments by 4.6%. Statistics Deutschland reported a 5.7% decrease in residential property prices in the first quarter of 2024 compared to last year, marking the sixth consecutive quarter of price declines. Residential properties were also 1.1% cheaper in early 2024 compared to the fourth quarter of 2023, highlighting ongoing challenges in the housing market that contributed to reduced consumption of materials.

Simultaneously, the eurozone manufacturing sector experienced a downturn, with the Eurozone Manufacturing Purchasing Manager’s Index dropping in June 2024 due to a sharper decline in new orders and rising costs. It indicated a deterioration in the manufacturing sector's health during the month. Concurrently, cost support on the production costs of Glycol Ether fluctuated on feedstock Ethylene due to a shift in upstream Crude Oil prices amid a fall in demand for energy during summer and an increase in upstream Brent Crude Oil prices. Meanwhile, the supply rates were moderately low to the importers amid a decline in export rates and an increase in freight costs. Conclusively, at the end of the week, which concluded on 19th July 2024, Ethylene Glycol Monobutyl Ether (GE) FOB Hamburg prices in Germany witnessed USD 1570/MT.

As per the estimation, the Glycol Ether prices would rebound in the upcoming weeks due to an increase in consumption rates from cleaning agent manufacturers because of the anticipated revamp in demand for cleaning products in international markets like India. Simultaneously, the improved consumption from the Pharma sector would boost the Glycol Ether market. At the same time, operating rates would remain low at regional manufacturing units during the summer holidays because of labor shortages. It would impact the Glycol Ether supplies to the market.