Entering mid-April, the demand for methyl ethyl ketone remained sluggish, leading to increasing sales pressure upstream. Merchants became more pessimistic, showing stronger willingness to discount and sell, while market quotations began to soften. As transaction focus shifted downward, bearish sentiment intensified among industry players. Under the influence of downstream buyers' "buy on dips, sell on rallies" mentality, procurement became more cautious, with some factories intensifying price pressure through counteroffers. Meanwhile, inquiry activity in the export market declined, weakening domestic market support. With supply-demand imbalances becoming prominent, the market briefly entered a state of volumeless decline. By month-end, prices fell to a certain low level, prompting downstream terminal factories to cautiously replenish inventories, leading to a rebound in trading volume. This forced demand supported the market bottom, halting the price decline and showing a slight rebound trend. After the May Day holiday, production plants secured acceptable new orders, gradually easing sales pressure. However, the inclination to sell at low prices diminished, bolstering merchants' confidence. As port inventories gradually depleted, tight spot supply led to narrow but upward adjustments in market quotations. Yet, with phased procurement concluding, making it difficult to follow up on high-price transactions.
From the perspective of the raw material market, after the May Day holiday, the Shandong ether post market fluctuated and fell, with a shift in the focus of transactions. Affected by the holiday, the upstream and downstream game sentiment is limited, and prices can temporarily stabilize. However, due to the shutdown and maintenance of some independent alkylation units, fundamental constraints have intensified, and manufacturers in various regions have voluntarily offered discounts to ensure shipment, forcing prices to fall. The decline in raw material prices has led to an increase in the profitability of the butanone factory.
In the short term, the domestic butanone market is expected to maintain a weak balance pattern of weak domestic demand and export support. The operating load of production factories is expected to remain stable, and the total output of the industry will achieve a slight increase. Due to the fact that many of the main factories have export orders waiting to be delivered, the increase in supply has not been fully converted into domestic trade pressure. Export orders will effectively divert domestic sources of goods and alleviate the risk of factory inventory accumulation. However, the activity of domestic trade trading is generally low, making it difficult to form an effective upward driving force for prices. It is expected that the butanone market will continue its current weak equilibrium state. The long-term market trend will depend more on the execution progress of export orders and the demand situation in overseas markets. In the future, close attention should be paid to changes in the international economic situation, the pace of export orders, and the actual recovery of domestic demand, which will become key variables for judging market trends.