Some polyols players in Europe note tight supply, higher pricing in July due to explosion at styrene monomer/propylene oxide plant in Moerdijik, Netherlands, while others have not seen adverse effects; producers aiming for €100/tonne increase
Elyse Blye
LONDON , July 11, 2014 (ICIS Chemical Business (CBNB Abstracts) ) – On 24 Jun 2014, producers of polyols in Europe expressed that they have different views regarding its availability and pricing for Jul 2014. Some producers noted that there is tightening of supply due to an explosion at BASF's and Shell's joint venture styrene monomer/propylene oxide plant in Moerdijik, Netherlands. Due to the explosion, BASF declared a force majeure on propylene oxide last 4 Jun 2014. Also, some producers noted their struggle to respond to non-regular customers for Jun 2014 and Jul 2014. Due to supply constraints, some producers push for higher prices for Jul 2014. Producers are aiming for a EUR 100/tonne increase. However, some buyers note that they have not seen adverse effects on the polyol supply. The buyers noted that the decrease in demand is greater than the decrease in upstream polyol availability. Jun contract prices for European polyol dropped month-on-month by EUR 10-20/tonne and were assessed at EUR 1750-1810/tonne free delivered (FD) northwest Europe (NWE) for slabstock flexible polyols and EUR 1970-2030/tonne FD NWE for sucrose base rigid polyols.
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