US MA seller seeks 4 cent/lb increases in June

29 April 2010 20:15  [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS news)--A US maleic anhydride (MA) manufacturer announced a June contract increase of 4 cents/lb ($88/tonne, €67/tonne) on Thursday, driven by spiking raw material and transportation costs.

The move came as MA's chief feedstock, normal butane had gone from the mid-$1.40s/gal range in March to the low-$1.60s/gal last week. It averaged in the mid-$1.50s/gal for April.

In January, the last time butane was priced in the $1.60s/gal range, MA producers announced increases of 4 cents and got 3-4 cent/lb hikes in March.

The supplier also said that transportation costs for MA had risen in 2010, adding to support to the June increase proposal.

The latest hike comes at a time when the largest downstream market of unsaturated polyester resins (UPR) is hurting but starting to show some small steps to recovery.

A UPR producer called the 4 cent/lb increase "disappointing" as it continued to pass increases on to its customers.

Another US MA producer said it had not made any announcements for June, and two others could not be immediately reached.

Current molten MA prices were in the US were in the range of 72.20-78.20 cents/lb, according to ICIS pricing.

Major US MA producers included Huntsman, Lanxess, Marathon and Flint Hills Resources. Bartek manufactured MA in Canada, and Idesa sold MA from Mexico.

($1 = €0.76)

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By: Ryan Hickman
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