Market summary:
US August maleic anhydride (MA) contracts settled at a rollover of 87.20-93.20 cents/lb ($1,922-2,055/tonne, €1,345-1,439/tonne), driven by stable feedstocks and demand amid the seasonal lull, market participants said during the week ended 2 August.
The seasonal lull was attributed to lower sales of unsaturated polyester resins (UPR), in line with some market expectations.
MA contracts have held steady at the 87.20-93.20 cents/lb DEL (delivered) US Gulf market since May.
One producer said it expected a stable market in August, while another said it may take a couple of weeks to determine sales level trends for August.
One factor in August will be a planned turnaround for the second half of the month, which is expected to tighten supply, some sources said.
However, buyer sentiment so far does not anticipate any challenges in securing material during August.
Other US MA producers said they continue to run at high rates.
Feedstocks:
Prices for feedstock normal butane, or n-butane, were on an uptrend during the week.
On 2 August, n-butane prices on the NYMEX moved up to 194.75 cents/gal. An MA source said if butane prices stay in the 190s cents/gal, increases in the MA market could be considered.
In the upstream energy market, US crude futures came down on 2 August to $93.79/bbl, tracking a sell-off on the stock market in response to a drop in US consumer spending.
Production:
A major US MA producer is still on schedule for a two-week maintenance turnaround in August.
The producer has a 45,000 tonne/year plant in Neal, West Virginia that will be down for two weeks beginning 14 August, a market source said.
Industry Data
US July auto sales increased 1% year on year, according to data released by Autodata on Tuesday.
US July auto sales were 1,059,601 units, up from 1,050,101 units in July 2010 and 1,053,248 units in June 2011.
The American Chemistry Council (ACC) estimates that each automobile contains an average of $2,700 (€1,890) worth of chemicals.
| NYMEX | August 2 | July 26 | July 19 | July 12 |
| Crude Oil $/bbl | 93.79 | 99.59 | 97.50 | 97.43 |
| Natgas $/MMBtu | 4.16 | 4.37 | 4.53 | 4.30 |
| Butane cts/gal | 194.75 | 190.5 | 189.375 | 188.50 |
($1 = €0.70)
Covering Editor: Brian Balboa, brian.balboa@icis.com
This week on ICIS ( www.icis.com ):
01/07/2011 22:26 US June auto sales up 7.1% year on year, down 0.8% month on month
02/08/2011 21:42 US crude falls $1.10/bbl on stock market sell-off
01/08/2011 09:54 Saudi Aramco raises August LPG contract prices on higher crude
30/07/2011 00:59 Europe MA Q3 contracts down €75/tonne on improved supply
29/07/2011 11:26 MOL to shut down Szazhalombatta MA plant in August for maintenance
