The acetone settlement for January was concluded at $0.425 per pound. This is an increase of $0.0125 per pound from December’s settlement. We saw a runup in propylene pricing prior to Storm Fern. This contributed to the first increase of the acetone settlement since the beginning of Summer 2025. Will upward mobility continue or do supply/demand factors linger for acetone?
The refinery grade propylene (RGP) market has been rather quiet since last report. There was one rumored pipeline (yes, the first of its kind since April 2025) deal at $0.29 per pound, but the trade cannot be confirmed. However, with the movement of polymer grade propylene (PGP) over the last month, this $0.29 per pound RGP deal does not seem absurd. PGP, since January 7th, has moved from approximately $0.27 per pound to just below $0.325 per pound. This runup in pricing was a guarded measure in case of a severe Storm Fern. Current PGP trades are hovering around $0.31 per pound.
9,000 MT’s of acetone arrived in the USA in December 2025. This was the highest volume month seen since May 2025. One of the parcels came from Italy, a newer party to the import dance. Since last report, pricing in both Europe and Asia has gone up. There has been much turmoil in the European market with the announcement of Domo filing for insolvency. Consumers in Europe have requested pricing from USA sellers.
Price increases between $0.03-0.05 per pound have been announced from multiple domestic producers and sellers with effective dates spread across February. Import options have run dry amidst higher pricing and little availability. We expect minimal imports into the USA between April and June. All domestic producers and consumers are operating at the time of this writing.
We called for a modest increase for the USA January acetone settlement. For February, we will call for the same. The quick upward movement in propylene should translate to more than just a $0.0125 per pound increase from December to January for the USA acetone settlement.