Glacial Acetic Acid Industry Weekly Report

The spot price of glacial acetic acid in East China declined this period, fluctuating between 2230-2350 yuan/ton.

Recently, the methanol macro environment has been weak, coupled with high port inventories, leading to a continued decline in market prices.

During this period, Glacial Acetic Acid prices fell across all regions. Specifically, prices in East China fell by 83 yuan/ton, a decrease of 3.49%, while prices in North China fell by 92 yuan/ton, a decrease of 3.88%. The rate of decline slowed slightly this period, with unexpected plant malfunctions and subsequent maintenance plans leading to a slight shift in market sentiment.

Glacial Acetic Acid

The Glacial Acetic Acid market continued its downward trend this week, although some factories saw price rebounds. At the end of last week, shipments in the Northwest region improved, and factories in the Northwest gradually stabilized their operations. However, sentiment in other regions remained weak, and market prices continued to decline. Mid-week, with the shutdown of the Guangxi Huayi plant due to a malfunction and the announcement of an extended maintenance plan, Northwest factories slightly increased their operating rates, leading to a shift in market sentiment. Traders and downstream users largely adopted a wait-and-see approach, and market prices temporarily stabilized.

Supply Analysis

This week, the Guangxi Huayi Phase II Glacial Acetic Acid plant experienced a shutdown due to a malfunction, Shunda reduced its operating rate, and other factories maintained their previous operating rates. Therefore, the operating rate continued to decline this week.Glacial acetic acid production this week was 226,800 tons, a decrease of 12,600 tons from last week, with a capacity utilization rate of 69.61%.

Demand Analysis

The capacity utilization rates of major downstream industries producing glacial acetic acid showed mixed trends this week. During the week, PTA plants in East China started production, Zhongtai Chemical restarted, Dushan Energy's old plant and INEOS shut down, and some other plants adjusted their loads. Overall, the domestic PTA capacity utilization rate declined week-on-week. Ethyl acetate: Zhuhai Qianxin plant adjusted its load, Jiangsu Baichuan and Guangxi Jinyuan plants shut down at the end of the week, resulting in a continued increase in ethyl acetate capacity utilization this week. Butyl acetate: Yankuang plant and Zhuhai Qianxin plant restarted after short shutdowns, while Jiangsu Baichuan plant shut down, leading to a decrease in butyl acetate capacity utilization this week.

Inventory Analysis

As of November 3, 2025, glacial acetic acid producers' inventory was 208,800 tons, a decrease of 8,800 tons from the previous period, a drop of 4.05%. Glacial acetic acid inventories declined during this period, with increases in Shandong, North China, and Central China regions, and decreases in other regions. Recently, with prices falling sharply, downstream factories are mostly fulfilling long-term contracts. In East China, due to numerous plant maintenance shutdowns, inventory has declined. In North and Northeast China, factories have seen a significant decrease in inventory as shipments have resumed, but in some areas, inventory has risen due to low downstream demand. Longzhong Information predicts that glacial acetic acid inventory will likely fluctuate little in the next period.

Ethyl Acetate

The ethyl acetate market continued its downward trend this week. In East China, the lowest price was 5060 yuan/ton (cash/ex-factory), and the highest was 5150 yuan/ton (cash/ex-factory). The weekly average price was 5087 yuan/ton, a decrease of 88 yuan/ton from the previous week, a drop of 1.70 percentage points.

Ethyl acetate prices declined consecutively throughout the week, with trading remaining sluggish. Cost factors continued to influence market sentiment. The raw material acetic acid market remained on a downward trend for most of the week. Although there were signs of stabilization, the substantial support for the market remained weak, continuously impacting market sentiment. While cost performance was weak, the supply-demand game continued. News of a planned short-term shutdown of a South China plant was released, but given the overall ample supply, its impact on the market was minimal.

Purchasing intentions from intermediaries and users remained weak. In the declining market, most buyers adopted a cautious wait-and-see attitude, making only small purchases as needed at lower prices, showing little acceptance of current price levels.

Next week, the planned resumption of production from plants will exceed the losses from planned maintenance shutdowns, making it difficult for overall downstream demand to improve substantially, and the supply-demand gap may widen further. Furthermore, while the price of acetic acid, the raw material, has stabilized, its support for the market is limited. Longzhong predicts that the price range for ethyl acetate will decrease next week.

Butyl Acetate

Butyl acetate prices stabilized after a decline this week. In East China, the lowest price was 4975 yuan/ton (cash ex-factory), and the highest was 5115 yuan/ton (cash ex-factory). The weekly average price was 5033 yuan/ton, a decrease of 235 yuan/ton from the previous week, a drop of 4.46 percentage points.

Butyl acetate prices remained under pressure from both costs and demand this week, although transaction volume increased later. At the beginning of the week, costs continued to influence market sentiment. The weakness in the prices of raw materials n-butanol and acetic acid provided continued weak cost support for butyl acetate. Furthermore, the planned restart of previously shut-down plants created significant negative factors, leading to low purchasing sentiment on the demand side. Intermediaries and downstream users lacked confidence in the future market and adopted a cautious wait-and-see approach, making it difficult for factories to reduce inventory. Subsequently, as related raw material n-butanol prices showed signs of stabilizing and rebounding, market sentiment improved, generating some willingness among intermediaries and downstream users to buy on dips. Combined with the release of restocking demand, trading activity increased in many regions.

Market Outlook for the Next Period

The glacial acetic acid market is expected to see a simultaneous rebound in both supply and demand next period. However, due to varying supply and demand sentiments across regions, Longzhong Information anticipates a slightly firmer market in Northwest China, while other regions will see a narrow decline.

Key Focus Areas:
1. Supply Side: Next week, the Xinjiang Zhonghe Hezhong plant is expected to shut down, while the Suopu plant will restart after maintenance, leading to a rise in capacity utilization.

2. Demand Side: With PTA undervalued, PTA producers anticipate improved supply and demand, resulting in a slight decrease in overall output next period. Ethyl acetate: The Jiangsu Suopu plant will restart next week, while the Changde plant has a planned maintenance shutdown, leading to a slight increase in ethyl acetate capacity utilization. Butyl acetate: The Zhuhai Qianxin plant will resume normal operation, resulting in an increase in butyl acetate capacity utilization next week. Vinyl acetate: Shenghong will restart next week, expected to improve capacity utilization.

3. Cost Factors: Based on theoretical calculations of upstream and downstream plant start-up and shutdown, methanol supply and demand data are expected to show an overall positive expansion. Next week, methanol supply is expected to increase significantly, while demand growth is limited, leading to increased inventory pressure and an overall oversupply situation. Methanol prices may still show signs of declining in the short term. However, with gas restrictions about to begin, the downward space is expected to be limited. Next week, the port methanol spot price is expected to fall to 2080-2100 yuan/ton.

Looking ahead to next week, Zhuhai Qianxin's plant is scheduled to restart, resulting in ample supply. However, downstream demand is generally weak, and after a period of buying, downstream buyers may withdraw from the market to deplete inventory. The supply and demand dynamics will offer limited substantial support to the market. Meanwhile, the price of raw material n-butanol will continue its weak trend, providing insufficient cost support. Longzhong predicts that the butyl acetate market may stabilize briefly next week before potentially falling again, requiring continued monitoring of raw material-related news.