Bisphenol A Market Outlook: Bearish Trend Forecasted Through November 2024
As we wrap up November 2024, the Bisphenol A (BPA) market is still seeing downward trends worldwide. The main reasons for this continued slide are the low demand coming from the polycarbonate (PC) and epoxy resin industries. In places like China, the situation is particularly tough, with consumption patterns remaining weak, inventories piling up, and supply and demand not quite balancing out. This has created a bit of a tough spot for BPA manufacturers and the industries that depend on their products.
In China specifically, the PC market has experienced a drop in operating rates, with big players like Jiaxing Emperor shutting down for maintenance. The industry’s average operating rate went down from 77% to about 75%, and weekly PC production dipped below 60,000 tons. Despite these cutbacks, the market is still oversupplied, with lots of inventory holding prices down. Downstream buyers are playing it safe, only buying what they need to keep minimal stock on hand. Even with some facilities going offline for maintenance, it hasn’t made much of a dent in the market due to those high inventory levels. The costs of the raw materials needed for BPA production, like phenol and acetone, are also low right now, making it cheaper to produce BPA.
High inventory levels and slow demand have pushed suppliers to drop their prices, but even that hasn’t jump-started much buying activity. The gap between supply and demand is still wide, and end-users are taking a cautious approach.
Meanwhile, in Europe and the USA, BPA prices are following the same downward trend, driven by quiet demand from the construction and automotive sectors. Less construction work happening in the eurozone means PC and epoxy resin aren’t being used as much, worsening the oversupply issue. Seasonal factors and economic worries are heaping more pressure on the market, making things even more bearish in Europe.
The global BPA market is feeling the strain from too much production capacity and not enough demand. Buyers aren’t eager to make big purchases, widening the supply-demand gap even more. The construction industry in Europe, a big user of BPA products, is seeing fewer building projects, which is hurting demand for epoxy resin and PC.
Overall, the BPA market is struggling with too much supply and not enough demand. With high inventory levels and slow buying from downstream industries, prices are under constant pressure. According to ChemAnalyst, BPA prices are expected to keep dropping in the next month due to the oversupply and weak demand. The new production capacity coming online is only making matters worse, and as downstream factories hold off on stocking up, BPA prices are likely to stay low in the near future.