Acrylates appear to weaken as August gets under way
US acrylic acid and acrylate esters contract offers for August were heard down by 3–4 cents/lb ($66–88/tonne, €46–62/tonne), during the week ended 3 August, mostly mirroring July propylene declines of 4 cents/lb.
Bids, however, were heard in the range of 6–7 cents, reflecting the July feedstock decline and softer-than-expected downstream demand.
The adhesives business has been moderately good, an acrylates buyer said, but a bit softer in July compared with the previous month and year-ago levels.
Another buyer said it had not yet been offered lower prices for August but anticipated price weakness partly because of competitive imports from Asia.
Weaker seasonal demand in August and a fear of even lower prices to come have also heightened efforts to sell off higher-priced inventory, buyers suggested.
Spot FOB export prices were confirmed down by about 4 cents/lb during the period.
In the broader chemical sector, the ICIS Petrochemical Index (IPEX) decreased for the second month in a row, with more than one-half of the 12 products declining in price.
The largest overall decline was 4.2% in western Europe, followed by a 1% slip in US pricing. Northeast Asia saw prices rise by 1.4%
In downstream markets, the residential construction industry continues to be sluggish, with sales of new single-family homes falling by 1% in June from May, according to the US commerce department.
However, US pending home sales rose by 2.4% in June from May, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) said recently. May’s index reading marked an upturn from April, when pending home sales had plummeted 11.6%.
Feedstock
Chemical-grade propylene (CGP) slipped by 4 cents/lb for July, but propylene inventories were up during the week and spot refinery-grade propylene was heard marginally higher. RGP frequently indicates the direction of propylene contract settlements.
Feedstock oxo-alcohols n-butanol (NBA) and 2-ethylhexanol (2-EH) supply was balanced with softer demand, sources said.
The NYMEX crude futures contract for September weakened by nearly 6% from one week earlier and finished down for the fourth consecutive session in response to weekly supply statistics from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), which showed a build in crude and refined products inventories.
The stock market on Wednesday fell on economic data showing slowing economic expansion but eventually recouped losses and moved into positive territory.
($1 = €0.70)
NYMEX crude futures, $/bbl
| 3 Aug | 27 Jul | 20 Jul | 13 Jul |
| 91.93 | 97.40 | 98.14 | 98.05 |
This week on ICIS ( www.icis.com ):
28/07/2011 18:46 US pending home sales rise for second straight month in June
03/08/2011 19:50 US propylene stocks drop 8%; refinery rates rise
03/08/2011 17:23 INSIGHT: Big producers confident as sector holds on to upstream margins
03/08/2011 15:15 US Eastman halts production at Texas cracker for valve repair
03/08/2011 10:37 IPEX retreats for second month
03/08/2011 07:27 Major Chinese 2-EH producers lift domestic prices by CNY300/tonne
