Asian glycol markets are expected to remain fundamentally tight in the coming weeks. Low import availability, improving but still low operating rates, and stronger textile demand are supporting elevated prices. Chinese MEG inventories fell from nearly 1 million tons in March to 139,000 tons in early September, the lowest level in more than 10 years.
In the U.S., regional production remains high, but availability is constrained by strong export demand for MEG and DEG and limited TEG imports.
In Europe, improving domestic production and additional spot import cargoes from the U.S. are helping stabilize glycol availability. However, higher replacement costs are expected to add upward pressure to European prices, although moderate downstream demand should limit the extent of any increase.