US epoxy resin hikes still intact - buyers

08 July 2008 19:15  [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS news)--US epoxy resin producers appear to be standing firmly behind price increase proposals of 8-11% for June and July, and a majority of the proposed increases would likely remain in place, resin buyers said on Tuesday.

“The message is clear that [producers] are not happy with margins,” a resin buyer in the coatings sector said.

Another buyer said producers were leveraging tight supplies of upstream products to help drive through the epoxy resin price increases.

The most common type of epoxy resins are produced from epichlorohydrin (ECH) and bisphenol-A (BPA), which in turn are derived from basic petrochemicals including benzene and propylene.

Buyers said the epoxy resin price hikes had not significantly dampened demand, noting that applications such as aerospace, wind energy and industrial coatings were showing healthy growth.

US bulk liquid epoxy resin (LER) prices for mid-volume contract customers were 158-168 cents/lb ($3,483-3,704/tonne, €2,229-2,371/tonne) DEL (delivered), according to data from global chemical market intelligence service ICIS pricing.

Some sources have indicated July prices extending into the low 170s cents/lb.

($1 = €0.64)

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By: John Waggoner
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