This week, the acrylic acid market is struggling to balance the game between “weak demand” and “high cost”. Although the overall demand side is weak, manufacturers have a strong willingness to raise prices near the cost line, coupled with tightening supply in some regions, which has pushed market prices slightly upward.
Market price: On September 9th, the benchmark price of acrylic acid in Shengyi Society was 6316.67 yuan/ton, an increase of 1.07% compared to the beginning of this month (6250.00 yuan/ton).
Industry operating rate: On September 8th, the average capacity utilization rate of the domestic acrylic acid industry was 72.84%, unchanged from the previous working day. This indicates that the supply side remains stable without any significant increase.
Production profit: The industry’s profit margin continues to be squeezed. As of August 28th, the production profit margin of the acrylic acid industry was 5.43%, a decrease of 2.26 percentage points from 7.69% the previous week (August 21st). Some factories are already near the breakeven line or even losing money.
Supply side:
The industry’s operating rate remains at a median level of 72.84%, with stable factories and overall stable supply.
The social inventory is at a moderately high level, and inventory pressure continues to exist. However, factories and cargo holders tend to have a strong sense of price support, shipping according to market conditions and offering flexible quotes.
It is worth noting that in the second half of 2025, there will still be over 600000 tons or even 740000 tons of new production capacity planned to be put into operation in the domestic acrylic acid industry (such as Shandong Lanwan, Tianjin Bohua and other facilities), which may further escalate the supply pressure in the industry in the future.
In terms of demand:
The purchasing enthusiasm of downstream main fields (such as coatings, adhesives, textile auxiliaries) is insufficient, and they generally hold a bearish or cautious attitude, mainly focusing on replenishing inventory for essential needs, with widespread price cutting behavior.
The export market is also not optimistic. In the first half of 2025, the export volume of butyl acrylate in China decreased by 13.42% year-on-year, which cannot effectively divert domestic supply pressure.
The traditional demand side (such as oil extraction, water treatment, papermaking, etc.) is hindered by the global economic downturn, making it difficult to achieve significant growth.
Cost support:
The price of raw material propylene has fluctuated recently. As of September 9th, the benchmark price of propylene in Shengyi Society was 6605.75 yuan/ton, a decrease of 0.86% compared to the beginning of this month (6663.25 yuan/ton). Although the cost support is slightly limited compared to the previous period, due to the already low profit margin of acrylic acid production (5.43%), and even some factories are near the break even line, the producers have extremely limited room for profit and have a strong willingness to raise prices. This constitutes an important support for market prices.

Future Prospects
In the short term (within September), the acrylic acid market is expected to continue its volatile and strong operation, but the upward and downward space is limited. The game between cost support and weak demand remains the main theme of the market. If downstream demand does not improve beyond expectations (such as large-scale downstream centralized procurement or a significant increase in export orders), it will be difficult for prices to continue to rise significantly. The market is expected to experience a slight upward trend.
In the medium to long term, the acrylic acid industry is undergoing a transformation from “scale competition” to “technology premium era”. Top enterprises rely on technological iteration and industrial chain integration to build barriers (such as satellite chemistry and Huayi Group), while small and medium-sized enterprises face increased survival pressure due to insufficient technological investment, making it difficult to meet high-end demands (such as medical grade and electronic grade acrylic acid).
Overall, the acrylic acid market has been operating steadily in the supply-demand game this week, with prices slightly rising. Cost support and the rising price sentiment of manufacturers are the main driving forces in the current market, but weak demand and high inventory have also suppressed the upward space of prices.