Europe MEG Oct talks €40-80/tonne down on Sept

02 October 2008 17:49  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS news)--Weak monoethylene glycol (MEG) demand in Europe has led to October contract discussions taking place €40-80/tonne below September’s €875/tonne settlement, players said on Thursday.

 

Some buyers wanted to break the €800/tonne ($1,127/tonne) barrier for October contract business, but as one producer said: “€800/tonne or below would be a cash loss for manufacturers,” a producer said.

 

However, one customer speaking on the sidelines of this week's European Petrochemical Association (EPCA) meeting said: “They earned fortunes, they now have to suffer a bit.”

 

Manufacturers would rather shut down their units than sell material at such low numbers, the supplier said, while another producer was vying for €835/tonne FD (free delivered) NWE (northwest Europe) in October.

 

Another producer said: “[Customers] want [the price] to start with a seven, but this is not acceptable.”

 

The market was generally considered to be long and demand soft, hence the reduction of output at European production facilities.

 

Downstream, antifreeze activity was suffering with one reseller saying: “We have fewer [antifreeze] sales than the past year.”

 

The polyethylene terephthalate (PET) market also looked set to drop €30-100/tonne in October. This would follow a €40-60/tonne fall in September values. 

 

($1 = €0.71)

 

For more on MEG visit ICIS chemical intelligence

To discuss issues facing the chemical industry go to ICIS connect 

By: Caroline Howard
+44 20 8652 3214

For the latest chemical news, data and analysis that directly impacts your business sign up for a free trial to ICIS news - the breaking online news service for the global chemical industry.

Get the facts and analysis behind the headlines from our market leading weekly magazine: sign up to a free trial to ICIS Chemical Business.

Printer Friendly