Europe BPA contract prices rollover in December

07 December 2007 23:59  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS news)--European bis phenol-A (BPA) freely negotiated business rolled over into December on the back of fairly stable feedstock numbers in November, with upstream phenol constraints counter-balanced by the seasonal slowdown, market sources said on Friday.

The December price range was assessed at €1,460-1,530/tonne ($2,147-2,250/tonne) FD (free delivered) NWE (northwest Europe), unchanged from November, according to global chemical market intelligence service ICIS pricing.

Increases of around €20/tonne were reported by a few sellers. However, there was insufficient market confirmation to support this.

By contrast, formula related contracts were subject to some slight upward pressure, following the €9/tonne increase in feedstock costs in November, although sources noted that the level of increase varied according to the type of formula in place.

Supply was seen to be sufficient to meet demand, according to buyers, but sellers maintained that inventories were snug. Offtake was seen to be largely in line with expectations, although suppliers played down talk of any significant seasonal slowdown.

The main European BPA producers include Bayer, GE Plastics and Hexion.

BPA is used as a feedstock in the production of epoxy resins, polycarbonate and polyols.

By: Heidi Finch
+44 20 8652 3214

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