Price trend

After the New Year's Day holiday in 2026, the domestic acetone market reversed its continuous downturn from 2025, entering a strong upward trend driven by a concentration of positive factors.  Prices rose significantly, market sentiment shifted from pessimistic to optimistic, and the industry landscape experienced a temporary reversal. Looking at market performance, the price of acetone in the East China market rose from around 4,057 RMB/ton on January 1st to 4,750-4,800 RMB/ton by January 26th, an increase of 18.3% in just over 20 days. During this period, industry factories also raised their prices, further reinforcing the market's upward trend and injecting strong confidence into the market.

Market analysis

Domestic phenol and acetone plants were operating at a stable rate of over 85%, ensuring sufficient supply while keeping pressure manageable. Major factories did not have significant inventory buildup. Since January 5th, acetone prices have been repeatedly increased, with a cumulative increase of 650-800 RMB/ton, directly driving the market upward. Prices in all regions followed suit, with the East China region, as the mainstream market, experiencing the most significant fluctuations.

Port inventories showed a "slight increase followed by a decline," indicating limited pressure from inventory accumulation. After the holiday, the arrival of large vessels from Saudi Arabia led to a slight increase in inventory, but simultaneous strong demand from end-users absorbed the supply. On January 19th, inventory fell back to 28,000 tons, further reinforcing expectations of tight supply. Regarding imports, a total of 26,000 tons of acetone were imported in January, with 12,000 tons already arrived and 14,000 tons in transit. Subsequent shipments are mainly from South Korea and Thailand, with no plans for concentrated arrivals, meaning no additional pressure on the supply side in the short term.

The cost side provided strong support, with recent listed prices for benzene and propylene increasing by 200 RMB/ton and 350 RMB/ton respectively, driving up the overall cost of phenol and acetone. Due to the pass-through effect of rising raw material prices, the quoted prices for phenol and acetone had also increased by 100 RMB/ton and 250 RMB/ton respectively, effectively offsetting some of the cost pressure. It is expected that benzene and propylene prices will fluctuate in the short term, and the cost support trend will continue.

The demand side showed a structurally differentiated pattern, with strong support from core sectors. The operating rate of the bisphenol A industry rose to 67.49%, and purchasing demand was steadily increasing; the operating rate of the MMA industry reached 64%, and Yulong Petrochemical's new 100,000-ton plant was scheduled to start production in February, having already launched acetone bidding, continuously boosting market expectations. While the isopropanol and MIBK industries experienced a decline in operating rates due to plant maintenance, the increased demand from core downstream sectors was sufficient to offset this decline, providing solid demand support for the market.

The following were the acetone price quotations in major markets across the country:

Market outlook

According to business data provider SunSirs, the domestic acetone market is expected to remain volatile but generally strong in the short term. Controllable supply-side pressure, strong cost support, and improving core demand are contributing to this trend. Prices in East China are expected to range between 4,600-5,000 RMB/ton. Going forward, key factors to watch include the pricing intentions of major manufacturers, the volume of terminal purchases, and changes in production before the Spring Festival. The market still has upward potential in the long term, but it is necessary to be wary of the risk of a correction due to fluctuations in raw material prices and changes in the arrival schedule of imported goods.

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