Dichloromethane Price Trend and Forecast 2026-2027

Dichloromethane (DCM), also known as methylene chloride, is a chlorinated solvent produced from methane or methanol through chlorination, used extensively as a pharmaceutical processing solvent, paint stripper, and industrial degreasing agent. Chlorine and methane feedstock costs, and pharmaceutical solvent demand all feed into the price.

Global dichloromethane prices were projected in the USD 0.55 to 0.65 per KG range for 2026, with European prices tracked highest at USD 0.92 to 1.02 per KG and North American prices at USD 0.49 to 0.58 per KG, the most competitively priced tracked market. Europe held the highest tracked price range on elevated energy costs and stringent REACH-linked compliance expenses, while North America benefited from ample chlorinated solvent production capacity despite lingering TSCA regulatory pressures. Steady pharmaceutical solvent demand continued to underpin consumption across all tracked regions amid broader chlorinated solvent overcapacity.

What is Dichloromethane Price in August 2026?

Dichloromethane prices held close to the 2026 projected range through August 2026, tracking regional energy and regulatory compliance cost differentials, as steady pharmaceutical solvent demand continued to support the market across all tracked regions.

• Europe: European dichloromethane prices held near USD 0.92 to USD 1.02 per KG, the highest among tracked markets, as elevated energy costs and stringent REACH-linked compliance expenses continued to sustain the regional premium.
• North America: North American dichloromethane prices held near USD 0.49 to USD 0.58 per KG, the most competitively priced tracked market, as ample chlorinated solvent production capacity continued to support competitive regional pricing despite TSCA regulatory pressures.
• Demand Outlook: Steady pharmaceutical processing, paint stripping, and industrial degreasing demand continued to underpin baseline consumption, even as broader chlorinated solvent overcapacity limited upward price pressure.

Dichloromethane Price Forecast for 2026

The 2025 split isn’t going to heal itself in 2026. Europe still looks well-supported: pharma demand is reliable and supply won’t loosen much given the regulatory environment, so prices should hold in the USD 0.920 to 1.020/KG band. Northeast Asia is trickier to call. Chinese producers have excess capacity they haven’t absorbed yet, and until that changes, prices will probably stay in the USD 0.240 to 0.320/KG range. North America sits in the middle, where a partial pickup in construction activity could push prices into the USD 0.490 to 0.580/KG range. The 3-region average should come in roughly USD 0.550 to 0.650/KG, which is more stabilisation than recovery, but it’s better than where 2025 was heading.

For the Quarter Ending March 2026

Dichloromethane Prices Q1 2026:

• Europe: USD 0.948/KG
• North America: USD 0.521/KG
• Northeast Asia: USD 0.265/KG

Dichloromethane Prices in Europe

Europe moved higher again in Q1 2026. Prices reached USD 0.948/KG, up 3.4% from USD 0.917/KG in Q4 2025, the fourth straight quarterly gain. Pharma procurement is what’s driving it. API manufacturing has been running at solid volumes, and that steady offtake hasn’t let up. The other side of the equation is supply: Europe’s regulatory environment makes it expensive and slow to add capacity, so producers can’t bring on extra volumes even when they’d want to. That combination of reliable demand and constrained supply is what’s kept the market tight, and it doesn’t look like changing soon.

Why did the price of dichloromethane change in Q1 2026 in Europe?

Pharma buying stayed strong and supply stayed tight. That’s essentially the whole story for Europe in Q1 2026, and it’s been the same story for four quarters running.

Dichloromethane Prices in North America

Another quarter, another decline for North America. Prices slipped 5.1% to USD 0.521/KG in Q1 2026, down from USD 0.549/KG in Q4 2025, and that’s now five consecutive quarters without a gain. Construction demand, which feeds into paint stripping and surface prep, still hasn’t recovered from 2025’s softness. There’s nothing in the current pipeline that suggests it’s about to. Feedstocks also edged lower through the quarter, so the cost floor offered less support than usual.

Why did the price of dichloromethane change in Q1 2026 in North America?

Construction weakness kept paint stripping and surface prep demand soft, and feedstock cost declines took away whatever floor the market might have had. Five quarters of consecutive declines is the result.

Dichloromethane Prices in Northeast Asia

After losing 28.5% across 2025, Northeast Asia seems to have found a floor, for now, at least. Q1 2026 prices came in at USD 0.265/KG, barely a rounding error away from Q4 2025’s USD 0.266/KG. Some Chinese producers trimmed output rates during the quarter, which helped take the edge off the oversupply. The region is still cheap by any comparison, less than a third of European prices, but the rate of decline has stopped, which is something. Whether this holds is a different question.

Why did the price of dichloromethane change in Q1 2026 in Northeast Asia?

Chinese producers pulled back modestly on output, which was enough to stop the bleeding after a brutal 2025. Prices held flat, not a recovery, but not another leg down either.

For the Quarter Ending December 2025

Dichloromethane Prices Q4 2025:

• Europe: USD 0.917/KG
• North America: USD 0.549/KG
• Northeast Asia: USD 0.266/KG

Dichloromethane Prices in Europe

Europe finished 2025 on the front foot. Prices rose 3.1% in Q4 to USD 0.917/KG from USD 0.889/KG in Q3, the third quarterly gain in a row, putting the full-year increase at 10.1%. Year-end pharma production schedules and specialty chemical procurement kept buying activity solid through the final months. And as usual, supply wasn’t there to meet it, compliance costs in Europe make new capacity slow and expensive to bring on, so spot availability stayed tight and sellers finished the year in a strong position.

Why did the price of dichloromethane change in Q4 2025 in Europe?

Pharma and specialty chemical buyers were active through year-end, and producers had little extra volume to offer given the regulatory constraints on capacity. Third consecutive quarterly gain.

Dichloromethane Prices in North America

North America had its worst quarter of the year in Q4. Prices fell 4.2% to USD 0.549/KG from USD 0.573/KG in Q3, the lowest point of 2025. Construction stayed weak, industrial paint stripping demand softened further, and any hopes of a seasonal bounce didn’t materialise. It wasn’t what most buyers wanted heading into the new year.

Why did the price of dichloromethane change in Q4 2025 in North America?

Demand didn’t recover. Construction stayed soft, paint stripping volumes stayed down, and the expected seasonal uptick never came. Prices hit their 2025 low in Q4.

Dichloromethane Prices in Northeast Asia

The worst single quarter in the dataset. Northeast Asian prices fell 13.4% in Q4, from USD 0.307/KG in Q3 to USD 0.266/KG, and that’s across all regions, not just this one. China’s capacity additions kept coming, supply kept building, and buyers did what buyers always do in a falling market: they waited. No point locking in today’s price if tomorrow’s will be lower. That buyer hesitation made the oversupply worse, not better, and the quarter ended badly.

Why did the price of dichloromethane change in Q4 2025 in Northeast Asia?

Too much Chinese supply, too few buyers willing to commit. Buyers were sitting on their hands waiting for the bottom, which made the oversupply worse and drove the steepest quarterly fall in the dataset.

Quarterly Dichloromethane Price Trends

The 3-region average doesn’t look like much: it peaked at USD 0.607/KG in Q2 2025, slid gradually to USD 0.577/KG by year-end, and barely moved in Q1 2026 at USD 0.578/KG. Not a particularly interesting number on its own. But it’s hiding something significant, Europe was rising every single quarter while Northeast Asia was falling hard. The reason the average looks calm is because those two movements are almost exactly cancelling each other out.

What was Dichloromethane Price in 2025?

The 4.0% full-year decline in the 3-region average doesn’t really describe the 2025 dichloromethane market, it just describes what happened when you averaged three very different outcomes together. The real story was about divergence. Three forces were at work:

• Pharma demand in Europe held firm all year. It didn’t spike or do anything dramatic, it was just steady, consistent offtake quarter after quarter. And because supply can’t easily expand in that regulatory environment, that steady demand was enough to push prices up 10.1% over the year. The only region that finished 2025 higher than it started
• China kept building capacity and the regional market couldn’t absorb it. Quarter after quarter, more supply came in than demand could take up, prices fell, and buyers held off committing. That cycle drove a 28.5% full-year collapse, the worst outcome in this dataset
• North America was simpler: construction didn’t recover, paint stripping demand fell with it, and feedstock costs eased enough to erode the cost floor. Down 8.2% for the year

Dichloromethane Prices in Europe in 2025

From USD 0.833/KG to USD 0.917/KG, a 10.1% gain, and the only region in positive territory for the year. Pharma API manufacturing demand was the backbone of it: not particularly exciting, but consistent. Supply couldn’t chase it because the regulatory environment in Europe doesn’t allow for quick capacity additions. That structural constraint isn’t going anywhere in a hurry.

Dichloromethane Prices in North America in 2025

The statistics showed a range from USD 0.549/KG to USD 0.598/KG over the four quarters, with each quarter going lower than the one before. The construction softness was the main driver, as paint stripping and surface prep volumes fell as building activity cooled throughout the year. Feedstock costs also eased, which didn’t help. An 8.2% decline isn’t alarming on its own, but four consecutive quarterly drops without going upwards is a type of momentum that seems a bit difficult to change.

Dichloromethane Prices in Northeast Asia in 2025

The hardest hit region by far. Prices went from USD 0.372/KG in Q1 to USD 0.266/KG in Q4, down 28.5%, the steepest full-year decline in the dataset. Chinese capacity kept coming online in waves through the year. The quarterly price moves tell the story: -12.1% in Q2, -6.1% in Q3, then -13.4% in Q4. A market progressively overwhelmed by supply it had no mechanism to absorb.

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