2-Methylpropan-1-ol Price Trend and Forecast 2026-2027

India stayed the most expensive place to buy isobutanol all through 2025, and it still fell hard. Prices there dropped from USD 1.58/KG in Q1 to USD 1.42/KG by Q4, off 10.1%, as weak coatings and construction buying ran into plenty of supply. The global picture was worse: the average slid from USD 1.240/KG to USD 1.085/KG, a 12.5% drop over the year. Then Q1 2026 flipped it. Restocking, thinner import cover, and firmer propylene pulled the global average back to about USD 1.190/KG, and it nudged up again to USD 1.210/KG in Q2. We expect a global band of USD 1.08 to 1.24/KG through H2 2026 as coatings and construction demand climbs off the floor.

2-Methylpropan-1-ol, or isobutanol as most of the trade calls it, is a four-carbon branched alcohol. Most of it comes from oxo synthesis: propylene is hydroformylated to isobutyraldehyde, then hydrogenated to the alcohol. Some older aldol capacity off acetaldehyde is still running, and a little fermentation-based material has shown up at niche scale. It sells in industrial and high-purity grades. Solvents are the single biggest home for it, thinning nitrocellulose, acrylic, and amino coatings and doing slow-evaporating tail-solvent duty in paints and inks. From there it gets esterified into isobutyl acetate and other esters for coatings and plasticisers, and the rest goes into lube and fuel additives, glycol ethers, and mining flotation reagents. Propylene sits one step upstream, so the price really moves with propylene, and behind that with crude and naphtha. Feedstock, coatings and construction demand, and the regional supply balance are what set the number. Purity for solvent and ester use generally runs 99% and above, with water content and residual isobutyraldehyde the specs buyers actually check. Most large plants sit inside integrated propylene complexes, so the economics rarely wander far from the C3 chain.

2-Methylpropan-1-ol Price Forecast for 2026

The balance leans moderately firm into H2 2026. That 2025 destock has mostly played out, and the restocking through early 2026 pulled inventories back to something workable. Propylene held firm enough to keep the production floor in place, and cheap Asian output kept everyone well supplied. From here we look for small steps up, not a jump.

Demand is broad but shallow. Coatings and inks eat most of the volume, and they only really recover when construction and industrial activity do, which stayed patchy in 2025. Ester and glycol-ether derivatives add a steady baseload. Lube and fuel-additive use gives a smaller, less cyclical floor underneath. The swing capacity sits in Asia, so it's Asian operating rates that decide how fast any demand pickup turns into firmer prices. A colder, wetter construction season would slow the recovery further, since exterior coatings drive a big share of seasonal demand.

Two things could break the range. On the upside, a propylene squeeze from refinery turnarounds or firmer crude would push production costs past the top. On the downside, a stalled coatings recovery or another wave of cheap Asian cargoes would cap any rise and drag the average back toward the floor.

For the Quarter Ending June 2026

2-Methylpropan-1-ol Prices Q2 2026: 

• United States: USD 1.08/KG
• China: USD 0.98/KG
• Germany: USD 1.21/KG
• India: USD 1.58/KG

2-Methylpropan-1-ol Prices in United States

Thin imports and steady coatings restocking kept US isobutanol firm at USD 1.08/KG, a touch under 2% higher on the quarter. Prompt availability stayed tight as cleaning-solvent and paint formulators drew down stock faster than cargoes arrived, and firmer propylene added cost underneath.

Why did the price of 2-Methylpropan-1-ol change in Q2 2026 in the United States?

Restocking carried over from Q1, and with imports thin there wasn't much slack in the system. Firm propylene took care of the rest.

2-Methylpropan-1-ol Prices in China

China stayed the cheapest source at USD 0.98/KG, roughly 2% up. A pickup in solvent and coatings offtake met dearer propylene, so producers lifted offers, but the country's large oxo-alcohol capacity kept the increase modest and left plenty of export material available.

Why did the price of 2-Methylpropan-1-ol change in Q2 2026 in China?

Offtake recovered and propylene lifted conversion costs, so offers firmed. Deep domestic capacity is why China still sat lowest, near USD 0.98/KG.

2-Methylpropan-1-ol Prices in Germany

German material, second-dearest of the four, worked up about 1.7% to USD 1.21/KG. Steady mid-year coatings and ester demand held volumes, while a high energy-and-compliance cost base kept the floor well above Asian levels; buyers leaned on term contracts to manage the premium.

Why did the price of 2-Methylpropan-1-ol change in Q2 2026 in Germany?

Steady European coatings demand met a floor propped up by energy and compliance costs. That premium held the number at USD 1.21/KG.

2-Methylpropan-1-ol Prices in India

Top of the table, as usual. India ran USD 1.58/KG, near 2% higher, since local production is minimal and buyers ride the import market. Firmer landed costs, a softer rupee, and Gulf supply tension all fed straight into delivered prices, keeping India well clear of the other three.

Why did the price of 2-Methylpropan-1-ol change in Q2 2026 in India?

It's an import story. Landed costs and freight firmed, paint and construction-chemical demand came back, and with no domestic cushion India stayed top of the table at USD 1.58/KG.

For the Quarter Ending March 2026

2-Methylpropan-1-ol Prices Q1 2026: 

• United States: USD 1.06/KG
• China: USD 0.96/KG
• Germany: USD 1.19/KG
• India: USD 1.55/KG

2-Methylpropan-1-ol Prices in United States

Sharp rebound in the US: USD 1.06/KG, up almost 13% off the USD 0.94/KG Q4 low. Restocking after a long 2025 destock arrived all at once, thin import cover left little slack, and firming propylene pushed the recovery along.

Why did the price of 2-Methylpropan-1-ol change in Q1 2026 in the United States?

After months of destocking, buyers came back all at once. Imports couldn't fill the gap fast enough, propylene rose, and the market snapped up to USD 1.06/KG.

2-Methylpropan-1-ol Prices in China

Post-holiday restocking and costlier propylene lifted China to USD 0.96/KG, about 12% above the trough. Producers that had run at reduced rates through the winter raised offers as domestic solvent buyers returned, though ample capacity kept China the lowest of the four.

Why did the price of 2-Methylpropan-1-ol change in Q1 2026 in China?

Buyers returned after the holiday and propylene cost more, so the floor came up. China still priced lowest at USD 0.96/KG.

2-Methylpropan-1-ol Prices in Germany

Up around 11%. Germany reached USD 1.19/KG as European coatings buyers restocked and energy and feedstock costs climbed off the year-end base. The move tracked the wider recovery more than any local tightness, and volumes stayed moderate through the quarter.

Why did the price of 2-Methylpropan-1-ol change in Q1 2026 in Germany?

Restocking plus firmer energy and propylene lifted German prices to USD 1.19/KG.

2-Methylpropan-1-ol Prices in India

India, dearest again at USD 1.55/KG after a roughly 9% gain, drew support from tight import cover and firmer landed costs on Gulf supply tension. Paint and construction-chemical demand picked up ahead of the building season, adding to the pull on imported cargoes.

Why did the price of 2-Methylpropan-1-ol change in Q1 2026 in India?

Thin import cover and firmer freight did most of the work here, and restocking demand carried the market to USD 1.55/KG.

Quarterly 2-Methylpropan-1-ol Price Trends

Isobutanol spent most of 2025 grinding lower on weak coatings and construction demand and easy supply, then turned hard in Q1 2026 and held the gain in Q2. The average fell from USD 1.185/KG in Q2 2025 to USD 1.130/KG in Q3 and USD 1.085/KG in Q4, then rebounded to USD 1.190/KG and USD 1.210/KG. Net it out and that's a 2.1% gain across five quarters, all of it in the last two. Coatings cycles and propylene are what shaped the path.

The regional gaps say a lot. In Q2 2026 India at USD 1.58/KG sat about USD 0.60/KG above China at USD 0.98/KG, one of the widest splits in the set and a clean read on import dependence against domestic scale. Germany held a steady premium of roughly USD 0.23/KG over the US on energy and compliance costs. As the recovery matures, we'd expect those gaps to keep their shape even as the levels drift up. None of the four regions changed rank through the window, which tells you these are structural gaps, not passing dislocations.

What was 2-Methylpropan-1-ol Price in 2025?

2025 was a down year. Paint and solvent demand stayed soft, supply ran long, and the global average opened near USD 1.240/KG in Q1 and slipped to USD 1.085/KG by Q4, a 12.5% decline. Comfortable inventories and a steady run of cheap Asian cargoes set the tone.

2-Methylpropan-1-ol Prices in the United States in 2025

The US, starting the year near USD 1.05/KG, drifted to USD 0.94/KG by Q4, off about 10.5%. Weak coatings and lubricant demand, comfortable downstream inventories, and a steady flow of imports kept sellers on the back foot for most of the year.

2-Methylpropan-1-ol Prices in China in 2025

The steepest fall of the four. China slid from about USD 0.98/KG to USD 0.86/KG, down 12.2%, as heavy domestic capacity met thin solvent demand. Low operating rates did little to tighten a market that stayed long throughout.

2-Methylpropan-1-ol Prices in Germany in 2025

Soft European coatings demand outran high energy costs and pulled Germany from about USD 1.20/KG to USD 1.07/KG, a 10.8% decline. Construction weakness through the middle quarters was the main drag, with only a late-year flicker of restocking.

2-Methylpropan-1-ol Prices in India in 2025

Lower but still top of the range: India eased from roughly USD 1.58/KG to USD 1.42/KG, a 10.1% drop. Weak paint demand and steady import availability softened the market, though import dependence kept India the most expensive of the four all year.

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