Naphthalene Price Trend and Forecast

Regional Price Overview

Get the latest insights on price movement and trend analysis of Naphthalene in different regions across the world (Asia, Europe, North America, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa).

Naphthalene Price Trend for the Q1 of 2024

Asia

Despite the global coal industry's anticipation of stable or declining imports in 2024, the market dynamics in China for the first quarter indicate a substantial increase in coal imports, which favored the stabilization of the naphthalene production rate in the region. This surge, however, contrasts sharply with the industry's subdued outlook shared by the rest of the world.

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However, despite of excessive demand, the pricing pattern of naphthalene in China failed to showcase any significant appreciation during the first quarter of 2024. In the middle of the quarter, the market faced a significant downturn due to decreased demand. Additionally, rising inventories, coupled with production challenges during the Lunar New Year in China, further contributed to the decline.

In South Africa, coal prices dropped by 1% primarily due to weakened demand in Europe and increased coal stockpiles in India, which eventually lowered the overall cost of production. The Australian market also experienced a slight decline attributed to lower demand and market weakness, prompting some plants to replenish stocks cautiously.

Europe

The decline in Europe's coal prices as the region shifted from coal to gas was evident in the pricing pattern of naphthalene during the first quarter of 2024. This shift was to increase gas plant output while reducing coal plant usage due to cost advantages and environmental considerations. This lowered the overseas influx of coal tar in the region, leading to fluctuations in the production rates of naphthalene.

Additionally, the downstream industries also remained skeptical of the changing dynamics of production and trading in the region. However, other raw materials could sustain above the red zone, favoring the stabilization of the naphthalene price trend during Q1 of 2024.

Lower wholesale power costs in Germany also favored the efforts to cut operating expenses, further supporting the stagnancy in the market. However, uncertainties remained in the market as the rising environmental regulations and diminished purchasing capacity of consumers raised the concerns of the traders and producers of naphthalene.

North America

In the US naphthalene market, prices decreased due to forecasts of warmer weather, leading to reduced demand. In order to stay competitive against other exporting countries, the US strategically adjusted its pricing downward. A decline in domestic demand and an uptick in exports further contributed to the overall price drop. Amid the overseas supply crunch due to the disruption of the Red Sea trade route amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas crises and the depletion of the water level of the Panama Canal, the inventories of naphthalene witnessed slow destocking, but with excessive in-house production, the market failed to benefit fully from this destocking of inventories.

Analyst Insight

According to Procurement Resource, the price trend of Naphthalene is expected to waver in the forthcoming quarters as the support from upstream coal and end-user industries seems to fluctuate with changing global trading dynamics.

Naphthalene Price Trend for the October - December of 2023

Asia

The downturn of naphthalene price trend continued in the last quarter of 2023, too. The sluggish demand, along with the slowing down of the industrial sector, projected a negative influence on naphthalene market dynamics. Further, the low cost of feedstock benzene and fluctuations in the prices of crude oil prompted the manufacturers to reduce their operation rates. This reduction was still not sufficient to boost the momentum of the naphthalene market, and thus, the overall trend in naphthalene faced southwards.

Europe

In European countries, the trajectory of naphthalene prices took a gradual fall due to a lack of support from any of the market-driving factors. The shipments from the Asian countries and the USA reaching and leaving the European ports suffered an additional delay of 9-10 days due to the rerouting of the Red Sea route on account of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. The insufficient supply of raw materials is usually an indicator of positive movement in the prices of a commodity, but the dipping cost of benzene and lukewarm rates of procurement from the downstream industries did not offer a suitable dynamic of the rise in naphthalene price graph.

North America

The meek movement of the downstream textile and other industries made the recovery of naphthalene prices difficult. The traders also incurred a loss of exports due to the drying up of the Panama Canal and the excess of goods at the Suez Canal. This decline in export rates eventually led to a cascade of problems, such as a rise in domestic inventory levels, reduced units of production, and thus, an overall south turn of the naphthalene market dynamics.

Analyst Insight

According to Procurement Resource, the price trend of Naphthalene are estimated to continue its oscillating journey as the demand from downstream industries is still not showing any signs of revival.

Naphthalene Price Trend for the July-September of 2023

Asia

The price trend for naphthalene registered a bearish sentiment in the Asia-Pacific region during the third quarter of 2023. The feeble demands from the downstream sectors coupled with low upstream cost pressure caused the naphthalene prices to decline. Despite the rise in feedstock coal prices during the months of July-August, no apparent shift/incline was seen in the price graph of naphthalene. The rising upstream cost pressure was easily offset by the bleak downstream demands.

Europe

In line with its Asian counterpart, the price trend for naphthalene declined in the European regional market. The economic backlash amidst low operability rates affected the consumer’s confidence in the market leading to no or very few fresh orders. Given the already stacked inventory stocks, the demands were easily being filled; hence, despite the rise in feedstock coal tar price, no drastic effect was seen on the naphthalene market.

North America

The North American market almost mimicked the global pricing fundamentals for the naphthalene market. The bleak demand sentiment and overstock inventories amid high inflation caused the price curve to waver at the lower end of the scale.

Analyst Insight

According to Procurement Resource, the price trend for Naphthalene are likely to remain volatile in the coming months. With the rise in coal prices and the anticipated demand for the winter months, the suppliers are hopeful of positive market fundamentals.

Naphthalene Price Trend for the First Half of 2023

Asia

The price trend of naphthalene fluctuated in the first quarter of 2023 as the cost of crude oil remained uncertain throughout the quarter. The slow movement of the market forced the manufacturers to adopt a wait-and-see approach and caused the demand for the product in the market to decline. However, the second quarter was favourable for the prices of naphthalene. The market in this quarter surged due to lower supply from the US markets.

Europe

A stagnancy in the trajectory of naphthalene prices was seen in the first quarter of 2023. In this quarter, the delays in shipments, low demand, and reduced production activities due to high inflation and weak economic growth of the market led to a stable trend. These factors continued to influence the market even in the second quarter. Along with this, the PVC and agrochemical industries showcased a low interest in naphthalene which led to the problem of oversupply in the region that eventually caused the downfall in naphthalene prices.

North America

The prices of naphthalene declined gradually in the first and second quarters of 2023 due to the adverse effects of weak demand and dipping market activities in the region. The reduction in demand for naphthalene caused the level of inventories to rise and sliding feedstock prices aided in the fall of naphthalene prices. Amid these market conditions, the traders were eventually forced to reduce their profit margins, which led to the disruption in trading cycles.

Analyst Insight

According to Procurement Resource, the price of Naphthalene is expected to showcase a downward trend due to the fall in global demand for naphthalene and sliding feedstock prices.

Procurement Resource provides latest prices of Naphthalene. Each price database is tied to a user-friendly graphing tool dating back to 2014, which provides a range of functionalities: configuration of price series over user defined time period; comparison of product movements across countries; customisation of price currencies and unit; extraction of price data as excel files to be used offline.