Heightened Demand from Downstream Enterprises Drives Up Aniline Prices in Europe

The Aniline prices increased by 3.5% in the European region during June 2024. The demand for Aniline was firm from the Pharma sector. Merck KGaA announced its financial results for the first quarter of 2024, revealing a 5% growth in sales compared to the previous year. However, group sales totaled 5.12 billion euros (USD 5.55 billion) in Q1, reflecting a 3.3% decline from the same period in 2023, attributed to foreign exchange factors, particularly the Chinese Renminbi, which had a negative impact of 2% on the overall sales figure.

On the other hand, Aniline demand was stable for Aniline from MDI producers for consumption in the Polyurethane segment. Housing activity continued to be the weakest performing sector, though the pace of decline eased to its slowest in eight months. Commercial building projects saw a significant and unchanged decrease from the previous month. A factor contributing to the construction sector's ongoing challenges was the lack of new incoming projects.

At the same time, the previous availability of stocks was moderate. Meanwhile, production costs eased as feedstock Benzene prices saw an overall decrease of nearly 11% during the first half of June. This decline was driven by previous drops in upstream Crude Oil prices, reduced downstream consumption for heating purposes, and an increase in onshore inventories. It negatively impacted the production costs of Aniline. On the contrary, the cost support was firm from feedstock Nitric Acid due to the limited availability of supplies and increased demand from fertilizer manufacturers.

Previously, the suppliers did not change their Aniline quotations in the European region for the past few weeks because of well-balanced demand-supply dynamics. The supply availability was ample to cater to the demand from the downstream industries. The recent downturns in construction continued to persist as investment sentiment dwindled, which led to low demand for Polyurethane materials in the construction sector. It caused a decline in consumption rates of MDI from the Polyurethane segment. In May, consumer prices in the euro area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), rose by 0.5% compared to the previous month, indicating a moderate increase in the cost of goods and services for consumers across the region. Consequently, Aniline orders remained moderate to low from the Polyurethane segment.

Conclusively, according to the ChemAnalyst data sources, Aniline FD Hamburg prices assembled at USD 1465/MT, at the end of the week, which concluded on 21st June 2024.

Aniline prices are estimated to increase in the European region with the beginning of the third quarter of 2024. The demand for Aniline will probably increase from buyers due to the usual rise in consumption of Methylene Diphenyl Diisocyanate from the Polyurethane segment to produce thermoplastic PU materials. Meanwhile, logistics may be affected at the beginning of the third quarter due to La Niña, which will impact the variable costs and raise the final prices of Aniline in the market.