Europe January epoxy steady but €150/tonne hikes may be on way

18 January 2011 23:59  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS)--European January epoxy resins contracts mostly rolled over, but producers threatened hikes of at least €150/tonne ($200/tonne) in February because of spiking feedstock costs.

Buyers and sellers confirmed that the majority of settlements were completed back in December, before manufacturers were subject to a €50-60/tonne increase in epichlorohydrin (ECH) and an anticipated €100-150/tonne hike in bis-phenol A (BPA) costs for January.

Numbers therefore remained steady at €2,700-2,800/tonne FD (free delivered) NWE (northwest Europe) for liquid epoxy resins, according to ICIS. 

“We need to follow costs, and are already negotiating with customers on February contracts,” stressed one manufacturer.

Several customers thought a €150/tonne hike would be too much, though they conceded a significant increase would be implemented, offering numbers at plus €100/tonne.

Producers retorted that they would get the full amount as inventories were run down towards the end of 2010 and feedstock availability was low.

In addition to this, Momentive remained on force majeure (FM) at its 100,000 tonne/year epoxy plant in Pernis, the Netherlands, due to problems with its BPA unit. However, a source at the company said it was still on plan to start shipping in the next week.

Buyers insisted this was not a problem though, as demand was slow and for the most part other suppliers were making up the shortfall.

"They picked a good time of year to go on FM,” said one customer.

($1 = €0.75)

For more on Epoxy Resins visit ICIS chemical intelligence
To discuss issues facing the chemical industry go to ICIS connect 

By: Amandeep Parmar
+44 208 652 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