US October acrylates roll over on feedstock, seasonal softness

Larry Terry

16-Oct-2013

US October acrylates roll over on feedstock, seasonal softnessHOUSTON (ICIS)–US freely negotiated acrylic acid and acrylate esters prices rolled over for October on flat feedstock and seasonally soft conditions, sources confirmed on Wednesday.

Buyers and three of the four major suppliers to US customers confirmed that they have settled October contracts at rollovers. A buyer said it had considered seeking some price reductions later this month if it needed more volume, but subdued conditions persisted.

The rollover holds October glacial acrylic acid (GAA) in a range of $1.08-1.12/lb ($2,381-2,469/tonne, €1,762-1,827/tonne), as assessed by ICIS.

Monthly acrylates contract prices are largely dictated by the previous month’s primary feedstock chemical-grade propylene (CGP) values, which settled flat for September.

US October propylene recently settled down by 2.5 cents/lb, stemming mostly from a decline in spot prices, which recently fell to a 4.5-month low on longer supply and weaker demand.

Although the US architectural coatings market remains stable amid forecasts of improved demand in 2014, a key housing sector survey this week indicated that US home builders are less confident about market prospects, with construction-industry leaders blaming labour costs and uncertainty about federal fiscal policy.

In its monthly survey of housing contractors, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) said that market confidence among its members fell by two points in October from the downwardly revised September reading.

Major US acrylates producers include Arkema, Dow Chemical and BASF.

($1 = €0.74)

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