Price trend

Entering September 2025, acrylic acid market prices continued to be under pressure. As of September 1st, the benchmark price of acrylic acid on SunSirs was 6,250.00 RMB/ton, down 6.02% from the price of 6,650.00 RMB/ton at the beginning of the previous month. This was primarily due to continued weak demand and a strong wait-and-see attitude among downstream buyers, who only purchased for essential needs and showed little interest in stockpiling large quantities of stock.

Analysis review

The market downturn was the result of multiple factors on both the supply and demand sides:

Supply pressure continued to increase: In the second half of 2025, the domestic acrylic acid industry still had plans to commission over 600,000 tons, or even 740,000 tons, of new production capacity (e.g., at Shandong Lanwan and Tianjin Bohai Chemical). This further intensified supply pressure in the industry. Although the industry's operating rate remained at a low-to-medium level of around 68%, attempting to balance supply and demand through load reduction, social inventories remain moderately high, and inventory pressure persisted.

Demand was weak: Downstream key sectors (such as coatings, adhesives, and textile auxiliaries) were showing limited purchasing enthusiasm, generally adopting a bearish or cautious approach, focusing on replenishing inventory to meet demand, and engaging in widespread price-cutting. The export market was also bleak. In the first half of 2025, China's butyl acrylate exports decreased by 13.42% year-on-year, failing to effectively alleviate domestic supply pressures. Traditional demand sectors (such as oil extraction, water treatment, and papermaking) were hampered by the weak global economy and were unlikely to see significant growth.

Cost Support and Game: Although the price of propylene, the primary raw material, has risen since early August, the benchmark price for propylene on SunSirs was 6,663.25 RMB/ton on September 1st, a 3.58% increase from 6,433.25 RMB/ton at the beginning of the previous month. At the price level, some factories were nearing break-even or even operating at a loss. Therefore, manufacturers had very limited room for profit concessions and were strongly motivated to maintain prices. The market was caught in a fierce battle between "cost support" and "weak demand."

Future outlook:

In the short term, the acrylic acid market is expected to continue its low-level consolidation, with limited upside and downside potential. Unless there is an unexpected improvement in demand (such as centralized procurement by large downstream companies or a surge in export orders) or a significant increase in the cost-side (propylene) price, prices will be unlikely to rise sustainably. If the cost-side propylene price collapses or downstream demand remains sluggish, high inventories and weak demand will continue to weigh on the market.

In the medium to long term, the acrylic acid industry is undergoing a transition from scale competition to a technology premium era. Leading companies, such as Satellite Chemical and Huayi Group, are building competitive advantages through technological advancements and integrated supply chains. However, small and medium-sized enterprises, due to insufficient technological investment, struggle to meet high-end demands (such as medical-grade and electronic-grade acrylic acid), facing increasing pressure to survive.

To sum up, the core feature of the market is the fierce game between "weak demand" and "high cost", which leads to a dilemma in price fluctuations, the overall center shifts downward, and market participants generally adopt a wait-and-see attitude.

If you have any inquiries or purchasing needs, please feel free to contact SunSirs with support@sunsirs.com.