The paints and coating sector has started feeling the heat of rising production costs under the influence of high crude oil value amid improving offtakes from the consumer sector. Major players like Andhra petrochemical have revised their offers by a significant percentage within four weeks. As per the latest ChemAnalyst data, 2-Ethyl Hexanol prices have risen by around 19% compared to February 2021. ChemAnalyst assessed this revision during the second week of this month, while a comparison has been made with mid of February.

There are several reasons behind this steep price escalation which has appeared in the Indian market, while the major factor that has affected the current market dynamics is heard to be soaring crude oil value. The Russia-Ukraine conflict has disturbed global market sentiments, which is pressurizing downstream consumers to make frequent price revisions to abate losses. Furthermore, depleting Rupee value against the US dollar is also a key concern for converters in India, as they are facing dual cost pressure. In addition, another symbolic step by the US President, Joe Biden to ban imports of crude oil from Russia is also exacerbating the overall pricing dynamics. As per the assessment, banning crude oil imports from Russia may not impact the market of Europe and Asia in the coming months; thus, a significant fall in prices has been observed for crude oil during the past couple of days for the global market.

As per ChemAnalyst, prices are expected to maintain an overall buoyancy in forthcoming weeks on the back of high input costs. Even though crude oil value has started deteriorating in the global market, Indian players may not feel the calmness in the near term. Weakening rupee value against the dollar will be another factor behind this stress, as the RBI (Reserve bank of India) is not considering intervening in depreciating rupee value in order to promote exports.