Arkema first to target Europe Q1 acrylates hikes

18 December 2007 17:43  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS news)--Arkema will aim for a €80/tonne ($116/tonne) increase on acrylic acid and all acrylate esters in European first-quarter contracts, except on methyl acrylate (MA), where a €130/tonne hike will be sought, a company spokesperson said on Tuesday.

The move followed first-quarter methanol numbers being pegged at a sharp rise of more than €100/tonne, while upstream propylene hikes were discussed in the region of €50/tonne or higher.

“The cost pressure is unbearable and the margin situation extremely critical,” said the Arkema spokesperson.

Producers had lagged in announcing firm price targets for the quarter, awaiting a clear direction for raw material price discussions.

Although negotiations on acrylates had yet to begin for the bulk of contracted customers, buyers said that they were not expecting significant hikes on most of the products in the upcoming settlement.

MA was healthily available and competition to sell volumes would be greater than the need to increase prices, consumers predicted. The same was heard for acrylic acid and ethyl and butyl acrylate (EA and BA).

2-ethyl hexyl acrylate (2EHA) was the exception, where manufacturers were taking a firmer tone, based on remaining market tightness, buyers said.

Resellers were expecting to be able to implement small increases on 2EHA, while a buyer said it expected prices to stay stable at what it deemed a very high level.

Fourth-quarter contract prices were between €1,450-1500/tonne FD (free delivered) NWE (northwest Europe) for acrylic acid, €1,450-1,500/tonne FD NWE for MA, €1,400-1,450/tonne FD NWE for EA, 1,450-1,520/tonne FD NWE for BA and €1,640-1,710/tonne for 2EHA, according to global chemical market intelligence service ICIS pricing.

Major European producers of acrylic acid and acrylate esters include BASF, Dow and Rohm and Haas.

($1 = €0.69)

By: Sofia Lind
+44 20 8652 3214

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