Subscriber note :ICIS plans to change the CFR China Main Port spot quote in the Butyl Acetate (Asia) report to FOB N.E.Asia (inclusive of China, South Korea and Taiwan) in view of insufficient CFR China trades and in order to reflect current trade routes. For more information, please contact Helen Lee at Helen.Lee@icis.com.
Asian butyl acetate prices stable in subdued trading
Asian butyl acetate (butac) prices are assessed as stable in subdued trading.
Raw material acetic acid prices continued to decline in China this week, but prices of other key feedstock n-butanol were stable-to-firm.
Liquidity for bulk butac was still weak, with demand stalled by comfortable buyer inventories amid the seasonal lull. The overall market situation was largely unchanged, said the market participants surveyed this week.
Prices in China retreated as reduced operating rates in the downstream lacquer/wood coatings and automotive coatings sectors sapped demand. Producers’ FOB price ideas softened in line with the lower domestic prices and the build in their inventories.
For China-origin butac, a producer’s offer at a minimum of $1,550/tonne FOB China was unchanged for the past two weeks, but was still unsuccessful in garnering buying interest. The price could be negotiated should a firm bid emerge, the producer said.
Another producer’s offer eased to $1,450-1,460/tonne FOB China, down by $10-20/tonne from a week ago. A third supplier’s price idea was heard at a similar level of $1,450/tonne FOB China.
For bulk cargoes, other regional producers maintained selling ideas at above $1,500/tonne FOB NE Asia.
A Korean producer indicated a price idea of $1,480/tonne FOB, down by $10/tonne from a week earlier. The producer did not show firm offers to the market because of a lack of buying inquiries. Another northeast Asian producer maintained selling indications at $1,530/tonne FOB, unchanged from the past two weeks. This level remained unsuccessful in drawing buyers forward, the producer said.
Export sales continued to be limited to small lots packaged in drums, northeast Asian producers said.
Prices for drummed butac cargoes from China were heard about $30-40/tonne lower.
A wide range, between $1,610/tonne FOB China and $1,700/tonne FOB China was heard for drummed butac fixtures. A producer sold about 20 containers to outlets in the Middle East around $1,720/tonne CFR. Another producer concluded sales at around $1,700/tonne FOB China for cargoes bound for South America, the Middle East, and southeast Asia.
A Korean producer offered butac packaged in drums at $1,750/tonne FOB Korea, steady with last week. No deals were heard concluded. Another northeast Asian supplier who offered drummed cargoes at $1,680/tonne FOB NE Asia did not receive any buying inquiries this week, the producer said.
Southeast Asia
Prices in southeast Asia were assessed as stable-to-firm.
Liquidity for bulk butac improved somewhat as excess inventories have been drawn down in the past few weeks. A regional producer concluded a deal for 800 tonnes at $1,630/tonne CFR Thailand for shipment in August.
Such bulk pricing was considered workable by local importers, as prices for drummed cargoes also gained. Drummed butac jumped to about $1,700/tonne CFR Thailand for August, compared with about $1,600/tonne CFR Thailand in July, local sources said.
Domestic prices were heard at Thai Baht (Bt) 45/kg ex-tank, with importers hoping that August would bring an improvement in demand, they said.
Offers for Chinese product were heard at around $1,570/tonne CFR SE Asia, down by $10-20/tonne from last week. A trader said buying interest for cargoes indicated at around $1,540/tonne CFR SE Asia remained extremely thin, and it may take some time to bridge the gap between buying and selling ideas.
A buyer secured an isotank cargo at around $1,630/tonne CFR Philippines.
The ex-tank pricing from a key regional producer was maintained at $1,520/tonne for the remainder of July.
China
Diminished operating rates in the downstream paints and coatings segments amid the seasonal lull continued to curb demand. Domestic prices retreated.
EXW (ex-works) prices in eastern China were yuan (CNY) 200/tonne lower at CNY10,800-10,900/tonne EXW.
Transactions in southern China similarly lost ground and retreated to CNY11,000-11,100/tonne EXW, down by CNY 100/tonne from last week.
Feedstocks
Spot n-butanol values in northeast Asia shed $10/tonne to $1,600-1,620/tonne CFR, while prices in southeast Asia were unchanged at $1,600-1,630/tonne CFR. Acetic acid spot prices in northeast Asia dipped $10/tonne to $540-570/tonne CFR NE Asia.
($1 = CNY6.44)
($1 = Bt29.72)
Covering editor: Trisha Huang
This week in ICIS news ( www.icis.com):
29 July 2011 04:59 China’s Wujing Chemical to shut etac plant in August for maintenance
26 July 2011 09:06 China’s Ningxia Baofeng Energy plans 1.5m tonne/year methanol plant
25 July 2011 06:17 S Korea June petrochemical exports grow 23.2% on higher prices
26 July 2011 06:12 China June petrochemical imports fall; price spikes deter buyers
25 July 2011 04:07 Brunei Methanol to shut Sungai Liang plant in September
