The MIBK Market Trended Weakly Downward Within a Narrow Range in May

According to price monitoring data from SunSirs, the benchmark price to MIBK in the domestic market stood at 12,266.67 RMB/ton at the beginning of might; by might 26, the benchmark price had retreated to 11,833.33 RMB/ton, marking a cumulative monthly decline of 3.53%.

Downstream demand remains persistently weak, with insufficient follow-through on essential standards. The demand side stands as the primary factor dragging down MIBK market performance this month. MIBK is predominantly utilized in sectors such as coatings, inks, adhesives, and rubber anti-aging agents; however, might marks the traditional off-season to chemical solvent-based products consumption. Consequently, operating rates in downstream industries—including coatings, furniture manufacturing, and printing—have remained at low levels. Downstream manufacturers have generally adhered to a strategy of strictly "buying on demand" and "taking as needed," exhibiting extremely low willingness to engage in bulk stockpiling. Sentiment among market intermediaries regarding inventory replenishment remains subdued; traders are largely focused on liquidating existing stocks, resulting in a sluggish trading atmosphere. With support from essential demand proving feeble, it remains difficult to drive a recovery in spot market prices.

Raw material acetone prices have trended downward, causing cost-side support to weaken. Negative factors from the raw materials sector continue to ripple through the market; specifically, the market to acetone—a key feedstock to MIBK—has seen sustained price declines. Consequently, acetone manufacturers across various domestic regions have successively lowered their ex-factory quotations, causing the raw material cost baseline to shift downward and allowing to a modest recovery in profit margins to producers. With the loss of strong cost-side support, MIBK manufacturers have lost the leverage to hold firm on pricing. Compounded by pressure to move existing inventory, manufacturers have proactively lowered their ex-factory quotations—offering price concessions to facilitate sales—which has further driven spot market prices to follow suit in a downward direction.

Overall sector supply remains stable, and the prevailing pattern of loose supply-demand dynamics persists. On the supply side, domestic mainstream MIBK production facilities operated smoothly in might; leading companies—such as Wanhua Chemical, Baling Petrochemical, and Jianye Chemical—maintained healthy operating rates. Consequently, overall sector supply remains ample, with no instances of shortages resulting from concentrated maintenance shutdowns or widespread production cuts. Currently, the domestic MIBK market is characterized by an overall state of loose supply and demand; moreover, given the high degree of market levels among leading companies, competitive pricing to facilitate sales has intensified slightly, thereby curbing the possible to a market price rebound.

According to SunSirs, the domestic MIBK market is unlikely to escape its fundamentally weak landscape during early June; however, the scope to further sharp declines is limited, and the market is highly likely to enter a phase of bottom-level consolidation. The off-season to downstream end-user industries has not yet fully concluded, making a substantial rebound in overall demand unlikely; consequently, insufficient rigid demand will continue to weigh on market sentiment. Nevertheless, expectations that raw material prices have bottomed out and stabilized are strengthening, cost support is slowly recovering, and—given the scarcity of low-priced inventory in the market—manufacturers' willingness to hold up prices has shown signs of resurgence.

In summary, throughout might, the MIBK market was primarily weighed down by the seasonal lull in demand. Compounded by the dual pressures of declining raw material prices and ample supply, the market generally maintained a weak, narrowly downward trajectory, characterized by moderate declines and an absence of extreme price evaporative environment. By the end of the month, all bearish factors appeared to have been fully priced in; while the market is expected to remain relatively weak in the short term, further downside possible is limited, and prices are poised to enter a phase of bottom-range consolidation. Moving forward, key factors to monitor include the price trends of the raw material—acetone—and the pace of operational recovery within the downstream coatings sector.