For the Quarter Ending March 2022
North America
Because of the rapid price increase in upstream crude oil under the Ukraine-Russia war, the North American Acrylate market has been on an uptrend since the first week of this year. Since January, the crisis between Ukraine and Russia has had an impact on crude oil prices, as it has on global market attitudes. As a result of the inflationary pressure on convertors, several upstream commodities in the US market became more expensive week after week. The US government, on the other hand, attempted to stabilize prices by releasing strategic reserves and urging other significant economies, such as India, China, and Japan, to do the same. Despite these efforts, the Ethyl Acrylate price continued to rise in February, reaching over USD 2680/MT.
Asia Pacific
During this quarter, the Asian Acrylate market had mixed attitudes, which varied by nation. In the Asian market, cost pressure from increased crude oil prices has been noted on numerous acrylates, spurred by recent intensified tensions between Russia and Ukraine. Since mid-January, tensions between Russia and Ukraine have injected uncertainty into the global market, driving up prices for global crude and natural gas futures. Traders were restricted from making large price modifications on their imported commodities in India due to weak offtakes from the local market, despite imported prices increasing month over month. For spot purchases in February, the price of ethyl acrylate was estimated to be roughly USD 3100/MT in India.
Europe
The growing price of crude oil, combined with rising energy prices in Europe, drove important players to raise their offers in order to maintain margin. Due to their reliance on Russia for natural gas imports, Acrylate makers have been hit by the imminent danger of natural gas scarcity, which caused them to be concerned about margins. Natural gas contracts, on the other hand, spiralled out and injected significant turbulence into regional markets as a result of hefty sanctions on Russia imposed by major European countries such as Germany and the United Kingdom. Finally, as a result of the aforementioned factors, the price of Ethyl acrylate climbed throughout Europe throughout the quarter, despite stable demand from the regional market.
For Quarter Ending December 2021
North America
The coating industry in the US started gaining traction as Vietnam and China started to increase the amount of exporting Leather and textile to the US at the start of the fourth quarter of 2021. The increased production in downstream paints and coating industry led to the uprising trend of the Acrylate Ester Prices in the American Market. The rising trend of upstream acrylic acid prices in USA also assists in the upward trajectory of Acrylate Ester price in the domestic market on the Q4 of 2021. Conclusively, on the back of inflationary pressure amid stable of firm offtakes from the domestic market, increment of around 2% to 3% during November Acrylate Ester prices.
APAC
Butyl Acrylate prices dropped in last quarter of 2021 till mid-November and then started to rise for the rest of the year and this trend was a direct result of the upstream n-Butanol prices dropping still mid-December and rising again in the final quarter of 2021 in the Indian market. Even the dip in the crude prices in DEC 2021 in the Asian market did not affect the rise of Acrylate Esters prices in last part of the final quarter of 2021. The Philippines tax relief on leather and China increased production of leather in mid-December these factors increased the demand and reverted the declining prices of Acrylate ester to rise in the Asian market from DEC 2021. The Price of acrylate ester assessed around USD 2532/MT in India on the end of the fourth quarter of 2021.
Europe
According to ChemAnalyst sources, it was observed that strong demand from the domestic market meets the biggest supply dilemma in history, since the freight rate for the route between Asia and Europe was high in Q4 2021 and reports of insufficient tank containers also worsened the condition. While the demand from the downstream industries like home improvements (Paint coating), automotive coating and industrial coating rose consistently. These two factors contributed to an upward price trend in the European market for the entire fourth quarter of 2021.
For the Quarter Ending September 2021
North America
During Q3 2021, Acrylate Ester (Ethyl and Butyl) prices witnessed substantial rise across the North American region, backed by the limited supply of feedstock Acrylic Acid and n-Butanol. The price hike was also pushed by the halted production as a repercussion of Ida hurricane in the US Gulf Coast in August which ultimately caused an adverse supply crisis. As US imports most of the Acrylate Ester from China, congestion on several ports of China following the zero-tolerance policy further sent ripples to the prices of Acrylate Ester in the region. Therefore, an extra burden was exerted on the Acrylate Ester market because of its undersupply and robust demand from the downstream paints, coatings, and adhesive sectors in the region.
Asia
In Q3 2021, the Asian market witnessed an exorbitant rise in the prices of Acrylate Esters because of the limited availability of upstream Acrylic Acid. In addition, volatility in the price of crude oil directly influenced the pricing trend of Acrylate Esters. In China, prices soared significantly due to high demand from downstream industries and surge in prices of feedstock n-Butanol and Acrylic Acid. Moreover, due to the acute power shortage in September, most of the Chinese manufacturers were compelled to curtail their operating rates at several production plants due to the new energy policies imposed by Chinese authorities. In India, a proliferative trajectory in prices was observed in August owing to the escalation in feedstock prices along with the sturdy demand from the paints and coatings sectors. Acrylate Ester Ex Hazira monthly average prices raised from USD 2865.65/MT to USD 3270.53 per MT over the period from July to September in India.
Europe
The European Acrylate Ester industry also encountered a constant shortage of raw materials like other regions that consequently led to an exponential rise in the prices of Acrylate Ester in this quarter. Factors such as lower imports from the USA and Asia backed by the supply chain disruption because of the Ida hurricane and port congestion in China respectively also contributed to upsurge the prices of Acrylate Ester. In addition, skyrocketing freight charges and container shortage also aided to push up the prices for Ethyl Acrylate and Butyl Acrylate across the region.
For the Quarter Ending June 2021
North America
During Q2 2021, price of Acrylate Ester (Ethyl and Butyl) rose effectively across the North American region, backed by high demand from the downstream sectors. The price hike was driven by restricted supply of Acrylic Acid due to low availability of upstream Propylene. Prolonged disturbance in production activities since mid of February due devastating winter storm in the US Gulf Coast decreased the inventory levels of major upstream chemical producers, that led to a steep rise in Acrylate Ester prices. Strong demand from the downstream coatings, paints and adhesive manufacturers with the sharp economic rebound propped up the regional consumption.
Asia
The price of Acrylate Ester fluctuated in a narrow range, due to frequent changes in the demand patterns while the Asian industry faced global surge in the upstream Propylene prices. In China, prices rose effectively due to high demand from the downstream industries, amid rising consumption trends due to strong economic rebound. While in India, prices rose initially in April, and then later declined in May due to slowdown caused by the surge in COVID cases in the country. The second wave of the pandemic compelled the Indian government to impose restrictions in operations, that pulled down the demand from the paints and coatings sector. Thus, the price of Ethyl Acrylate and Butyl acrylate declined effectively and reached USD 1790/MT and USD 1380/MT respectively by the end of May in India.
Europe
The European Acrylate Ester industry faced similar market scenario like USA during this quarter, where the demand remained elevated in the midst of material scarcity. Due to lower imports from the USA and Asia, shortage of feedstock Acrylic Acid persisted throughout the quarter, while the demand remained consistently strong, which led its prices to rise effectively. In addition, high freight cost across Europe-USA and Europe-Asia trade route also intensified the overall price inflation for Ethyl Acrylate and Butyl Acrylate across the region.
For the Quarter Ending March 2021
North America
Demand for Acrylate Esters across North America region remained strong during Q1 2021. Regional demand from the Acrylic coatings segment showed strong potential, although the supply remained critically ill after several major plant turnarounds. Under the extreme cold temperature, few of the major manufacturers declared force majeure on their site, as the conditions were not favourable to run their plant operations. Dow announced force majeure on its Texas based plant which produces Butyl Acrylate. This cold snap led the prices of Acrylate Esters to rise effectively from USD 2210 per MT to USD 2580 per MT during January-March timeframe.
Asia
Like the global market, where the Acrylate Esters prices were escalating due to fuming raw material prices, Asian market encountered similar scenario and witnessed reasonable price gain on Acrylate Esters. Both Acrylic Acid and Acrylate Esters prices rebounded sharply in Asian market, due to spike in raw material prices during Q1 2021. Prices of Butyl Acrylate in the Indian market rose by 3.31% and reached USD 1323 per MT during March, while prices of Ethyl Acrylate in Chinese market reached USD 2250 per MT in March after rising by 15% since January.
Europe
The European market witnessed domestic shortage of feedstock Acrylic Acid during this quarter. Like USA, winter season also affected the production activity in Europe. Several unplanned turnarounds took place due to chilling weather and disrupted transportation activity. Evonik and Radici were compelled to declare a force majeure on their Acrylic Acid plants, which reduced the availability of feedstock material across the regional.
The Asian Acrylate Ester market seemed to gain the lost momentum entering the third quarter due to seasonal restocking by the downstream paints and coatings sector which showed signs of rebound with improvement in the construction projects and home décor requirements. Showing resilience amidst surging coronavirus infections in economies like India, Japan and South Korea, the upswing in sentiments for Acrylate Esters (Ethyl and Butyl Acrylate) was buoyed by the much-needed festive push observed in several Asian economies. CIF India prices for Butyl Acrylate were rangebound between USD 950-1050 per MT while for Ethyl Acrylate, offers were raised to USD 1400-1500 per MT levels. Snug supply due to plant outages and shipment delays were observed as a key supplier in the Middle East opted to go for maintenance turnaround by the end of the quarter. Unclear about material sourcing, buyers sought cargoes from other Asian sources to cater to the peak demand season in India and China.
Europe’s Acrylates fundamentals continued to face the double-whammy of fresh lockdowns due to the second wave of COVID-19 and tightened supply on account of plant turnarounds across several Asian economies. Europe’s output growth for chemicals declined by 4.5% in Jan-Sep period compared to same period in 2019. Acrylate Ester margins remained compressed throughout Q3 with November contracts being agreed at a marked decrease, as buyers were unable to transfer the high cost due to supply constraints and firming feedstock value.
The American Acrylate Ester producers witnessed stable Q-o-Q growth amid disrupted economy and ample product supply demand. The regional buying interest seemed to improve by the mid of the quarter, especially from the construction coatings and packaging adhesives, with lengthened supply pressuring the regional rates. However, the sentiments for US Acrylates remained bolstered as the demand from the adhesives and architectural coatings showed an uptick. Pricing curve remained flattened, showing modest improvement in August due to firming Propylene. US Acrylates plant utilization levels rose to 70% from nearly 50% in the first quarter. While coronavirus restrictions eased early in the period, fears of a new wave of infections in the US kept some demand constraints and limited the Q3 growth. Major US Acrylates suppliers include Arkema, BASF, Dow Chemical and Sasol.
