[Lead] The butyl acetate market in China is facing an imbalance between supply and demand. Coupled with the weak prices of raw materials, the market price has been under continuous pressure and declining. In the short term, it is difficult to significantly ease the pressure on market supply and demand, and the cost support is insufficient. It is expected that the price will still fluctuate narrowly around the current level.
In 2025, the price of butyl acetate in the Chinese market has shown a continuous downward trend, with the recent decline continuing and prices breaking previous lows repeatedly. As of the close on August 19, the average price in the Jiangsu market was 5,445 yuan/ton, down 1,030 yuan/ton from the beginning of the year, representing a decrease of 16%. This round of price fluctuations has been mainly affected by the interaction of multiple factors such as supply and demand relations and raw material costs.
1、Impact of fluctuations in the raw material market
Fluctuations in the raw material market are one of the key factors affecting the market conditions of butyl acetate. Among them, the acetic acid market has seen a continuous price decline due to the weakening supply and demand relationship. As of August 19, the delivered price of glacial acetic acid in the Jiangsu region was 2,300 yuan/ton, down 230 yuan/ton from the beginning of July, representing a significant decrease. This price trend has exerted obvious pressure on the cost side of butyl acetate, resulting in a weakening of the supporting strength from the cost end. At the same time, the n-butanol market, affected by episodic factors such as cargo concentration at ports, saw a short-lived stop to the decline and a rebound in late July. However, from the perspective of the overall supply and demand pattern, there has been no fundamental improvement in the industry’s fundamentals. In early August, the price of n-butanol returned to a downward trend, indicating that the market still lacks sustained upward momentum.
2、Guidance from supply and demand relations
The supply and demand relationship is the core factor affecting price fluctuations in the butyl acetate market. Currently, the contradiction between supply and demand in the market is relatively prominent, and changes on the supply side have an obvious guiding effect on the price trend. In mid-August, with the resumption of production at a major factory in the Lunan region, the market supply increased further. However, the downstream demand side performed poorly. Except for some major factories in the Jiangsu region that received certain support due to the execution of export orders, other factories generally faced pressure in product shipments, leading to a downward trend in the core of the market price.
Looking ahead, from a cost perspective, the production of butyl acetate still maintains a certain profit margin currently. Under the interplay of multiple factors such as costs and supply-demand dynamics, it is expected that the price of n-butanol may form a bottoming platform around the current level. Although the traditional peak demand season has arrived, major downstream industries have not yet shown signs of a significant pickup in demand. Even if n-butanol successfully forms a bottom, considering the insufficient follow-up in downstream demand, the room for a market rebound in the short term is expected to be limited. In addition, the supply-demand side of the acetic acid market has limited driving effect on price increases, while manufacturers still face certain cost pressures. It is expected that the market will maintain a volatile pattern, with the overall trend likely to be in a weak and stalemate state.
From the perspective of supply and demand, although the traditional peak demand season is approaching and there are expectations of improvement in downstream demand, the current industry operating rate is at a high level, and some major factories still face certain shipment pressures. Given the current production profitability, it is expected that manufacturers will still maintain an operating strategy focused on shipment, resulting in insufficient momentum to drive up prices in the market.
Comprehensively, it is expected that the butyl acetate market will continue to maintain narrow fluctuations around the current price level in the short term.
Post time: Aug-21-2025