Soaring Crude Oil value is Pushing up Prices of Oxo Alcohols in the Indian Market

Soaring crude oil value under the influence of ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine has been concerning global converters especially crude importing countries like India, as downstream derivatives are getting expensive week over week in the country. The year 2021 was tough for Oxo Alcohol manufacturers, as prices kept on tracing a downtrend for more than 3 quarters consistently in the Indian market. However, rising crude oil value and improving demand from the domestic construction sector has started providing ease to the domestic manufacturers. As per recent ChemAnalyst data, domestic manufacturers like Andhra Petrochemicals have raised their offers for Oxo Alcohols in the Indian market in order to protect their margin.

Demand fundamentals for the product have also started rising on the back of firm offtakes from domestic paints and coating manufacturers, taking support from boosting demand from the construction sector. Arriving summer season usually improve the demand for construction chemicals in the Indian market, which is building optimism for domestic paints and coating industries.

The ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine is already a matter of concern for global players, as post ease in pandemic related uncertainties has increased the global consumption of crude oil. Consequently, looming supply chain disruption amid solid demand from the global market has pushed up prices of crude oil to reach around $130/barrel contract basis.

As per the ChemAnalyst, Oxo Alcohol prices are likely to sustain their uptrend for a further period in India, as the domestic demand fundamentals will take time to decline in the country. Meanwhile, upstream crude oil value is also projected to rise further in forthcoming weeks and is anticipated to touch the mark of $150/barrel soon, which will also induce buoyancy to the domestic prices. In addition, the Indian government has declared to release some strategic reserves in order to temporarily cool down domestic inflationary pressure. However, these efforts may not be able to provide long term ease to the domestic manufacturers.