Quarterly Update on Global Acrylic Acid Market
For the Quarter Ending June 2021
North America
Acrylic Acid prices soared in the region throughout the quarter, as the demand improved effectively amid upstream supply disruptions. Major cause for shortage of upstream products Propylene, n-Butanol and Ethyl Hexanol, was climate calamity that hit the Gulf of USA in February. However, the demand from downstream architectural coatings, packaging alongside construction adhesives remained firm to support this upward price trajectory in USA. Prices rose from USD 1690/MT to USD 1770/MT in USA from April to June. In addition, due to the short supply of Acrylic Acid in the country, prices of several end use products increased effectively during this quarter.
Asia
Acrylic Acid prices showcased mixed sentiments in the Asian market, where the demand supply fundamentals varied from country over country. The demand fundamentals in the Indian market remained dull, as the second wave of pandemic slumped the demand for downstream derivatives of Acrylic Acid. However, being a majorly imported commodity, prices of Acrylic Acid rose initially in the first half of the quarter in effect of rising freight cost, which later declined with improvement in trade activities across major Indian ports. Meanwhile in China, prices of Acrylic Acid declined in first half of Q2 but later traced back its upward trajectory with increment in prices of its feedstock. Therefore, Acrylic Acid prices hovered around USD 1317/MT and USD 1310/MT for India and China respectively during mid of the quarter.
Europe
Acrylic Acid prices in Europe remained high during this quarter, bolstered by firm demand and inadequate availability across the region. Another major reason behind this rise was, soaring freight cost across US-Europe and Asia-Europe trade routes, and extremely high feedstock material cost from USA, as an after effect of winter storm in February. Besides, recovering economies and production activities in several European countries increased the demand for Acrylic Acid from downstream adhesive, paints and coating sector.
For the Quarter Ending March 2021
North America
The North American market witnessed a fair demand for Acrylic Acid from the downstream sectors during Q1 2021, although limited availability supported the prices. The prices of Acrylic Acid were observed rising in a consistent manner from USD 1490/MT to USD 1610/MT starting from January to March 2021, due to critical shortage of the feedstock chemicals like Propylene. The reason behind this shortage was freezing weather across the US Gulf Coast region, which aggravated the global shortage of several petrochemicals. On the other hand, demand from the downstream sectors like coating, packaging and constructional adhesive remained high during this period.
Asia
Global shortage of feedstock Propylene and Acrylic Acid strongly impacted the Asian Acrylic Acid prices across during Q1 2021. Production constraints were heard from several key manufacturers across Asia, like the shutdown of Tansee’s Acrylic Acid manufacturing unit in Saudi Arabia, fire accident at Zhenjiang Satellite Petrochem plant in China with prolonged shut down of LG chem plant in South Korea. Meanwhile, Propylene prices were running crazy high, that led the average FOB prices of Acrylic Acid to rise from USD 1130/MT to USD 1690/MT in China during January and March 2021.
Europe
Europe encountered acute shortage of Acrylic Acid amidst fair demand from the domestic market, during this quarter. Bad weather played an important role in creating a shortage at several areas and countries across Europe, transportation facilities were disrupted due to freezing cold weather in some areas, as many railway lines chocked due to icy winter. In addition, Evonik Announced forced majeure on its Acrylic Acid plant in Germany, similarly Radici also imposed force majeure on its Acrylic Acid site based in Germany due to bad weather conditions.
For the Quarter Ending September 2020
Asia
The Asian market for Acrylic Acid was seen less rosy in this quarter due to dampened demand from the downstream sectors such as paints, coatings and adhesives amid weak global macroeconomics despite rise in the industrial activity as Covid resurgence continues to pressure demand in several Asian economies. Supply was curtailed amid scheduled turnarounds in Taiwan, Indonesia and Malaysia. The quarter ended with India entering the peak season as it prepares for the Diwali festival. The demand of butyl acrylate, the most actively traded grade among downstream Acrylates in Asia, have been on a downtrend since July.
North America
The North American Acrylic Acid market struggled to perform well during the third quarter owing to hurt dynamics in the United States and Canada. Major Acrylic Acid producers in the region witnessed unchanged quarterly numbers especially despite reportedly slight gain in the demand for construction and packaging adhesives. Even as buying interest continued to improve, resurgence in COVID-19 cases kept the players in confusion. Pricing graph remained pressured but increased moderately in August extending gains of the feedstock Propylene.
Europe
Some European Acrylates producers announced maintenance shutdowns in the beginning of the third quarter, thereby tightening the regional availability. Leading producer Arkema announced an increment in the EU Acrylic monomer prices compared to the last quarter to make up for the losses incurred in the previous quarters. Downstream acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) was enjoying healthy margins amid strong demand up tick. Spot ABS prices were heard registering double-digit increase with improving buyer’s response towards the year end.
