Ethyl (2Z)-3-oxo-2-(3,4,5-trimethoxybenzylidene)butanoate

In the title compound, C16H20O6, the conformation about the C=C double bond [1.344 (2) Å] is Z. With respect to this bond, the ketone is almost coplanar [C—C—C—O torsion angle = −179.60 (10)°] and the ester is almost perpendicular [C—C—C—O = 78.42 (13)°]. The methoxy substituents of the central benzene ring are either almost coplanar [C—C—O—C = 3.54 (15) and 177.70 (9)°] or perpendicular [C—C—O—C = 80.08 12)° for the central substituent]. In the crystal, the three-dimensional architecture features C—H...O and π–π [inter-centroid distance = 3.6283 (6) Å] interactions.