Quarterly Update on Global Ethylene Vinyl Acetate Market
For the Quarter Ending March 2021
North America
Production of EVA in the US remained shallow due to the freezing winter storm, that disrupted various production activities around the US Gulf. Several manufacturers were forced to shut down their plants until the weather improves, e.g., Celanese was compelled to declare a force majeure upon its EVA plant based in Texas. In addition, feedstock Vinyl Acetate monomer (VAM) FOB US prices showcased consistent uptick in US during February and fluctuated between USD 1425-1460 per MT which led to the rise in prices of EVA in US and global market during the quarter.
Asia
In the Asian market, EVA prices remained firm weighed by the limited availability of upstream Acetic Acid and feedstock Ethylene & Vinyl Acetate Monomer (VAM). Prices of all the upstream and feedstocks remained high due to the global shortage as a repercussion of the US winter storm. In the Asian market, due to high VAM prices traders restrained to purchase EVA which created a domestic shortage across the region, leading to another rise in EVA prices in the domestic market. Acetic Acid prices remained highly bullish and rose by more than 44% across the quarter in Asia. In the Indian market, prices of 28% EVA rose by 3.24% and settled at USD 1779.75 per MT.
Europe
European EVA, VAM and Acetic Acid manufacturers were opportune to take over the market, when the US manufacturing capability reduced due to the winter storm. Bullish buying sentiments across Asia amidst the US freeze crisis skyrocketed the import demand and its prices, although the overall output remained insufficient to satisfy the demand. This bullish nature is expected to come down in the forthcoming quarter, as most of the plants across the US have come onstream.
For the Quarter Ending September 2020
Asia
Asia’s ethylene vinyl acetate market is bracing the tightened product supply because of the restricted output combined with steady & lull demand. Supply disruptions in China due to maintenance turnaround at Yanshan Petrochemical’s plant till end-July tightened the product availability backed by production outages at BASF-YPC’s plant. Due to weak supply and firm on-spot demand prices of 14-20% VA-content EVA rose to USD 1100-1150/tonne CFR SE (southeast) Asia in July. Buoyant demand from the end users like adhesive producers and photovoltaic helped in maintaining market optimism. On the feedstock front, stable Ethylene import prices helped in uplifting the producer’s margins.
North America
Regional Ethylene Vinyl Acetate supply was affected by the production outages announced by the key market players entering the third quarter, which are expected to show their effect in supplies in fourth quarter as well. Logistics challenges faced due to seasonal storms and Hurricane Laura in the Gulf coast regions restricted the overall product supply.
Europe
EVA availability turned lower in the third quarter of 2020, not only due to plant shutdowns in various regions in Texas and Germany but also because of the outages heard outside Europe. The third quarter saw the significant rise in the demand of EVA which is correlated with sturdy consumption in the paints and coatings sectors. The demand uptick was strongly by active restocking ahead of the year-end and Christmas holidays.
