C5 refers to the five-carbon hydrocarbon fraction obtained primarily as a byproduct of naphtha steam cracking (ethylene production) and, to a lesser extent, from fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) and natural gas processing. The raw C5 stream, commonly called crude C5 or mixed C5s, is a complex mixture of paraffins (n-pentane, isopentane), olefins (1-pentene, 2-pentene, 3-methyl-1-butene), diolefins (isoprene, cyclopentadiene, piperylene/1,3-pentadiene), and cyclopentane. Depending on the source and processing, C5 fractions are separated and sold as distinct commercial streams: cracked C5 (from steam crackers), natural gasoline C5 (from gas plants), or refined individual components. The cracked C5 fraction is particularly valued as a feedstock for C5 petroleum resin production, isoprene extraction, cyclopentadiene/dicyclopentadiene (DCPD) recovery, and as a blending component in gasoline and specialty solvents.
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Key Influence Events
Data source: UN Comtrade public trade statistics (https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202607&cmdCode=290110&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true) | Last updated: 2026-10-30
Price Trajectory, latest 12 months (2025-08 to 2026-07)
The monthly customs export unit value for HS 290110 moved from USD 809.03/ton in 2025-08 to USD 937.20/ton in 2026-07 (+15.8% across the window). The window high was USD 937.20/ton in 2026-07 and the low USD 687.05/ton in 2025-12. Three-month averages put the latest quarter +10.4% against the previous one, which is classified here as bullish.
The same panel reported USD 942.0 million of export value on 1,166,771 tonnes over the twelve months, an average of 97,231 tonnes a month. Values are customs returns for the stated HS heading, so they capture the traded mix of that heading rather than a single quoted grade.
The EU side of the same market is one month fresher than the panel above: Eurostat Comext records EU27 imports of HS 290110 from outside the EU at USD 647.03/ton in 2026-08 (EUR 558.12/ton at the ECB monthly reference rate), +9.0% against 2026-07, on 102,975 tonnes; the twelve months to 2026-08 totalled 1,627,304 tonnes. On the 11 months the two datasets share (2025-09 to 2026-07), three-month blocks that far apart moved +7.2% on the export panel and +25.8% on the EU import side, so the two agree on direction. Import values are recorded on a CIF-type basis by a single bloc, so the level is not comparable with the export panel — the comparison above is directional.
2026-08 is not used yet: 10 of the listed reporters had filed both value and net weight for this heading when this page was rebuilt, against the 14 that make up the locked panel used here, and 2026-09 had no filings at all. Mixing a partly-filed month into a fixed panel would move the unit value through composition alone, so the window is held at 2026-07 until the panel for 2026-08 is complete.
Read this as a proxy, not as a crude-C5 price. HS 290110 is the saturated acyclic hydrocarbon heading, so the customs series tracks pentane and other saturated C5 material; the cracked C5 stream described above, which carries isoprene, piperylene and cyclopentadiene, is not separated by a dedicated HS6 code at this level and its diene content is valued outside this heading.
Supply-side factors
- Fixed reporting panel of 14 economies: AUS (36), CAN (124), CZE (203), DNK (208), DEU (276), GTM (320), HUN (348), IRL (372), MYS (458), NLD (528), PRT (620), IND (699), SWE (752), GBR (826). The panel is held constant in every month of the window so month-to-month movement is not a composition effect.
- Monthly unit value range over the window: USD 687.05 to USD 937.20/ton.
- Latest month, 2026-07: USD 937.20/ton, +3.7% against the previous month, on 107,983 tonnes.
Demand-side factors
- C5 fraction value comes from what can be recovered from it: isoprene for polyisoprene and styrene-isoprene rubber, piperylene for hydrocarbon resins, cyclopentadiene and dicyclopentadiene for resins, and the balance as a gasoline-blending or solvent stream.
- Related market pages on this site: Isoprene, Piperylene and Cyclopentane — Isoprene for the main diene recovered from cracked C5; Piperylene for the second diene in the C5 cut; Cyclopentane for the saturated ring cut from the same stream.
Basis: these are customs unit values for the stated HS heading, not quoted spot, contract or assessed prices, and no paid price assessment is used or redistributed on this page. Every figure can be re-checked at the API links listed at the end of this page.
Need the supplier landscape, contract structure or a delivered-cost build-up behind this heading? Request a sample report or a custom cut.
Top Countries Production Capacity
| Grade / Stream | Key Component(s) | Typical Content / Specification | Unit | Primary Use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crude C5 – Isoprene Content | Isoprene | 15 – 25 | wt% | Isoprene extraction |
| Crude C5 – Cyclopentadiene (CPD) | Cyclopentadiene / DCPD | 10 – 20 | wt% | DCPD recovery |
| Refined Isoprene (polymer grade) | Isoprene | ≥ 99.5 | wt% | Synthetic rubber (IR, IIR) |
| Refined Isoprene (technical grade) | Isoprene | 98.0 – 99.5 | wt% | Chemical synthesis |
| DCPD (high purity) | Dicyclopentadiene | ≥ 95 | wt% | ROMP resins, UPR, EPDM |
| DCPD (technical grade) | Dicyclopentadiene | 80 – 95 | wt% | C5 resins, fuel blending |
| n-Pentane (pure) | n-Pentane | ≥ 99 | wt% | EPS blowing agent, solvent |
| Cyclopentane (pure) | Cyclopentane | ≥ 95 | wt% | Polyurethane foam blowing agent |
| C5 Petroleum Resin – Color (Gardner) | – | ≤ 5 | Gardner units | Adhesives, coatings |
| Sulfur Content (cracked C5) | Total sulfur | ≤ 50 | ppm wt | Quality / downstream catalyst protection |
Data Sources
Price and volume figures are derived from the directly verified public sources below. The customs unit values are USD/ton; they are not subscription price assessments. Grade-level specifications are not restated here: confirm them with the supplier. Every monthly endpoint used for the series on this page is listed below, together with the HS classification reference.
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202508&cmdCode=290110&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202509&cmdCode=290110&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202510&cmdCode=290110&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202511&cmdCode=290110&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202512&cmdCode=290110&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202601&cmdCode=290110&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202602&cmdCode=290110&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202603&cmdCode=290110&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202604&cmdCode=290110&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202605&cmdCode=290110&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202606&cmdCode=290110&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202607&cmdCode=290110&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/files/v1/app/reference/HS.json
- Eurostat Comext DS-045409, EU27 extra-EU imports, monthly: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/api/comext/dissemination/statistics/1.0/data/DS-045409?format=JSON&freq=M&reporter=EU27_2020&partner=EXT_EU27_2020&flow=1&indicators=VALUE_IN_EUROS&indicators=QUANTITY_IN_100KG&product=290110&sinceTimePeriod=2025-09
- ECB euro reference rate, monthly average (EXR/M.USD.EUR.SP00.A): https://data-api.ecb.europa.eu/service/data/EXR/M.USD.EUR.SP00.A?format=csvdata&startPeriod=2025-09&endPeriod=2026-08
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