Dimethyl Carbonate Price Trend and Forecast: Top 10 Leading Trading Countries and Regions - Latest Edition [2026]

The EMR pricing report on Dimethyl Carbonate provides insights into the top 10 leading trading countries and regions.

Towards the end of the fourth quarter of 2024, the Dimethyl Carbonate (DMC) prices globally exhibited region-wise volatility. The APAC methanol and crude oil markets, along with their EV battery-related demand along EV battery demand, and pre-holiday inventory build-up, led to firm price appreciation in DMC. On the contrary, North America and Europe DMC markets faced headwinds from conservative purchasing, weakening electrolyte and battery manufacturing demand, and persistent oversupply. Overall, North America and Europe faced more downward pressure on DMC prices than the APAC region’s appreciation.  While in Q1 2025, demand cautious recovery led to subdued DMC prices globally, exacerbating the oversupply situation. The dimethyl carbonate price trends suggest a stagnant global market, with price rebounds appearing distant.

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Dimethyl carbonate (DMC) is widely employed in industry as a “green” alternative to toxic methylating and carbamylating agents, primarily in the production of polycarbonates via a phosgene-free route, making it a key intermediate for plastics used in automotive, electronics, and construction sectors. Such factors are responsible to boost the dimethyl carbonate price trends ahead. It is also extensively used as an electrolyte solvent in lithium‑ion batteries, valued for its low viscosity, high dielectric constant, and compatibility with other carbonate solvents.

Dimethyl Carbonate Price Forecast

Dimethyl carbonate price trends in 2024 experienced a fluctuating trend, with the overall market facing downward pressure due to weak demand from key downstream sectors such as lithium-ion battery electrolytes and polycarbonate manufacturing. Despite its increasing importance as a green solvent and battery material, the demand growth in 2024 was insufficient to offset the impact of oversupply, particularly in the Asian market. China, being a major producer and exporter of DMC, saw high inventory levels throughout the year, further pushing prices down. Additionally, falling feedstock prices, such as methanol and ethylene carbonate, contributed to the softening of production costs, leading to lower market prices.

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Global Trade and Supply Chain Implications

As of 2024, the global sidelines for Dimethyl Carbonate (DMC) revealed continuous unsold stocks and slight growth in market demand, affecting the dimethyl carbonate price trends directly. The largest producer and exporter, China, maintained a high stock in DMC, which translated to low prices. Furthermore, DMC pricing stagnation and lack of trade across the globe were largely due to feeble demand from North American and European battery manufacturers, as well as electrolytes and polycarbonate downstream industries.

As of early 2025, the trade patterns and supply chain for DMC is still a product of season-driven stocktaking and slow purchasing activities, hampering the dimethyl carbonate price trends. Chinese exporters kept their output steady while purchasers from the US and Europe held back due to low demand in the battery market. Chinese DMC sellers did not see a sharp increase in demand.

Feedstock Analysis

The feedstocks used to make Dimethyl Carbonate (DMC) are methanol, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and urea. One of the most used approaches is methanol oxidative carbonylation. This approach is most desirable owing to its efficiency and absence of phosgene. There is also a more sustainable emerging method that uses methanol and carbon dioxide combinations, thus bolstering the dimethyl carbonate price trends positively. This approach is simpler and more friendly to the environment than alternatives. There is also another approach where, through a transesterification reaction, urea and methanol are used to produce DMC. Furthermore, newer plants, such as the Sailboat-operated plant, are starting to produce DMC and ethylene carbonate using COâ‚‚ pathways, thus indicating a move toward more sustainable and circular production approaches. These changes are crucial for DMC production to comply with green chemistry and sustainable principles.

Demand and Supply Outlook for Dimethyl Carbonate

The global market of Dimethyl Carbonate (DMC) is expected to stay oversupplied for the time being, due to the continued high production rates, especially from China, the number one exporter in the world. The dimethyl carbonate price trends is further affected by the profitability for the DMC market that has improved due to easing upstream methanol pricing, along with steady production. There is also ample availability of raw materials in the U.S. and Europe, where imports are being kept at a minimum under just-in-time buying models. In China and Europe, the buying strategies are still cautious and overall are showing moderate demand recovery. Chinese and U.S. EV sales are supportive; however, electrolytic and battery producers are highly cautious due to stockpiled inventories, market policy volatility (Trump’s administration for one), and shifts in European battery production from NMC to LFP, thus posing a threat to the dimethyl carbonate price trends. In China, the easing of restriction policies is helping demand recovery as of March 2025. However, limited large-scale restocking is harming aggressive restocking due to conservative downstream production strategies.

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