The prices of Ethylene Dichloride (EDC) witnessed a stable trend in the first week of January 2025. The prices continued to be stable with no fluctuations in the past several weeks. The stability in the prices was attributed to stable market conditions as demand and supply dynamics remained flat and stable in the past several weeks. The market witnessed consistent supply leading to stable prices.

The primary driving factors for stable pricing include efficient management of inventories, no significant fluctuations in the supply chain and consistent demand from major downstream sectors. The recent weather disruptions due to multiple tornadoes that touched across the Southern US over the previous weekend didn’t show any impact on the prices of EDC as the existing inventory levels remained sufficient to meet the market demand. The prices of EDC continued to be stable despite the ongoing weather disruptions in the market.

On the supply side, feedstock for EDC production that is ethylene prices remained stable, which helped maintain consistent production costs across the market. With no significant increase in production costs, there was no upward pressure on prices, allowing the overall market to remain stable. On the demand side, the primary consumer of EDC is the PVC (polyvinyl chloride) production industry, which is heavily utilized in the construction sector. Demand from the PVC production sector remained steady while the overall production of PVC was also stable. However, despite the stable demand and production in the PVC sector, the market faced some pressures stemming from uncertainties related to policy changes and geopolitical tensions. These factors contributed to some volatility in the broader PVC market, but their impact on EDC demand and supply dynamics was minimal. As a result, the EDC market continued to see price stability, with no significant shifts in demand or supply to disrupt the market equilibrium.

Looking further, the construction sector is expected to face some serious challenges such as decline in raw material availability due to increased tariffs as the newly elected President Donald Trump said that one of his first executive orders will be to sign 25% tariffs on goods coming from Mexico and Canada  and an additional 10% tax on products from China. The export opportunities for US EDC may decline due to the policy changes with key trading partners. Due to the uncertainty in the construction market due to labour shortage and potential raw material shortage, the prices of EDC may witness upward trend depending upon other factors such as production and demand levels.