Nonylphenol Ethoxylate prices have stayed down since early April on the back of dwindling demand fundamentals from the downstream detergent industry across the Asian market. Additionally, the consumer spending habits changed this month, with the effect of the intensifying Russia-Ukrainian conflict and soaring upstream Crude and Palm oil prices. Consequently, all the Palm derivative products, including cleaning agents and cosmetics in the region, have witnessed depressing market sentiments.

The geopolitical tension with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has disrupted all the commodity markets to great extents. For instance, Palm oil has long been favored by the price-sensitive Asian purchasers due to its low cost and quick delivery with a short shipping timeframe, but it was selling at a premium over soybean and sunflower oil in early March. The procurers and the key market players increased their consumption of Palm Oil with stockpiling activities in hopes of further price rises on the back of the conflict. As a market strategy, the March import volumes of palm Oil jumped over 21 percent in India, the biggest importer of edible oils. Therefore, the higher purchases of feedstock Palm Oil from the second-largest exporter, Malaysia, have become the primary reason for this fall.

On the other hand, the first largest Palm oil exporter, Indonesia, has set its reference price around USD 1658 per tonne for May shipments which were previously offered near USD 1800 per tonne. The regional downstream detergent players might no longer be under cost pressure and can thereby enhance their feedstock consumption in the near future. According to a Mumbai-based trader, Indian palm oil imports are expected to jump about 11% in April compared to March.

As per the ChemAnalyst, “The price of Nonylphenol Ethoxylate in the Asian market will incline in the coming weeks. Declining domestic inventory levels will be the driving factor promoting surfactant market growth. Also, Palm oil demand will jump in the near time with the widening discount in its prices, USD 40/tonne and improving consumption from the downstream sectors.”