Europe caprolactam rising €25/t in August

27 August 2008 23:59  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS news)--Protracted contract discussions regarding August caprolactam prices had mostly come to a close with increases of €25/tonne ($37/tonne) reported as the norm, buyers and sellers said on Wednesday.

“This was inevitable with rising oil prices,” one customer said.

Buyers and sellers said there was a variety of prices applicable for August volumes and these ranged from rollovers to hikes of €50/tonne.

With a €60/tonne hike upstream on August benzene prices and ammonia spiking by $360-380/tonne since early June, several spoke of special conditions that apply to the August caprolactam agreements.

In some cases, only part of the August benzene increase was taken into consideration. Players agreed this on the condition that only part of the potential September benzene decrease be taken into consideration.

“If benzene goes down in September, we won’t argue for the full decrease,” a buyer explained, having experienced a rollover from July to August.

Spot gains in Europe benzene and a stronger dollar were mitigating against potential September contract decreases, surprised market participants said.

Caprolactam suppliers cited the significant increases upstream, particularly in benzene and ammonia, as forcing them to seek margin recovery.

Caprolactam prices for August were pegged at an average increase of €25/tonne to €2,044-2,085/tonne FD (free delivered) NWE (northwest Europe), according to global chemical intelligence service ICIS pricing. 

($1 = €0.68)

For more on benzene, cyclohexane and caprolactam visit ICIS chemical intelligence
To discuss issues facing the chemicals industry visit ICIS connect

By: Caroline Howard
+44 20 8652 3214

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