India's FACT issues 7,500-tonne ammonia tender amid rising prices

26 August 2010 12:20 [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS)--Fertilizers and Chemicals Travancore Ltd (FACT), the India-based fertilizer manufacturer, has issued a tender for 7,500 tonnes of ammonia amid expectations that prices in India are due to rise, market sources said on Thursday.

FACT will close the tender on 1 September, with delivery to Cochin for 18-22 September, according to sources.

Offers have been requested to remain valid until 8 September.

FACT last bought ammonia from Qatar Fertilizer Co (QAFCO) under its 22 July tender at $360/tonne (┬284.40/tonne) CFR (cost and freight), which reflected around $330/tonne FOB (free on board) Qatar.

However, since then Middle East spot prices have risen, with Iranian ammonia sold last week at $345/tonne FOB.

At the same time, Yuzhny ammonia prices have risen to $365/tonne FOB; as a result, Middle East prices are expected to rise further.

Indeed, an Iranian cargo for second-half September shipment is reportedly being discussed at $370-380/tonne FOB.

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25 August 2010 23:53 [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS)--Two more acrylates producers proposed increases for September contracts, bringing the range of hikes to 8-15 cents/lb ($176-331/tonne, ┬139-261/tonne), sources said on Wednesday.

After recent rollovers to August from July, price increases would be strongly resisted, buyers said. A couple of buyers felt there was no rationale for the increases, particularly the highest increases announced so far by Dow Chemical.

While feedstock chemical-grade propylene (CGP) was up 2 cents/lb for August, the resumption of production at American Acryl and BASF's Freeport plant in Texas eased supply constraints that had pushed prices up by about 60% from December to May, some buyers said.

However, one producer challenged that assumption.

At American Acryl and BASF, the restarts were too recent and demand has been too robust to allow any inventory rebuild or lifting of pervasive sales controls and allocations, the producer said. Also, allocations or sales controls remained in force among all the suppliers, sources said.

Buyers said they were obtaining contracted volumes, but additional pounds were not generally available.

One producer said it has continued to field requests for more material than it can provide.

Market sources acknowledged continued weakness in architectural coatings versus stronger water treatment and pressure-senstive adhesives markets, but said paints and coatings demand was stable.

The return of some production capacity, though, was credited with helping spot domestic and export prices drift down in recent weeks, though both were said to be stable during the week.

Year-end seasonal demand for acrylates was expected to diminish, and a producer said it would give suppliers the opportunity to stock up in preparation for anticpated stronger demand next year in the late first quarter or the early second quarter.

US acrylates producers include Dow Chemical, BASF and Arkema Emulsion Systems.

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26 August 2010 00:03 [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS)--US styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) producers are hoping to see a rollover or a drop in September feedstock prices that would allow them to compete with imported material, a supplier said on Wednesday.

Facing a continued hammering by imported product from Asia, US producers are hoping for relief in US feedstock butadiene prices, the supplier said.

A drop in BD prices in September would allow domestic SBR producers to lower production costs, enabling them to drop prices without eroding margins, the supplier said.

Two BD producers have nominated September BD at 96-98 cents/lb FOB (free on board) US Gulf (USG), up 2 and 4 cents/lb, respectively. Two other settlement participants had yet to be heard from.

Monthly BD contracts typically settle at the lowest nominated price.

US SBR spot prices for 1502 non-oil grade material and 1712 oil extended grade material were 113-120 cents/lb ($2,492-2,646/tonne, ┬) FOB (free on board) US Gulf (USG) and 103-108 cents/lb FOB USG, respectively.

By contrast, Asian SBR 1502 material at the port was about 112 cents/lb, only slightly less than in the US. However, imported 1712 material was priced near 92 cents/lb, too low for US suppliers to compete with.

North American SBR producers include Goodyear, International Specialty Products (ISP), Lion Copolymer and Negromex.

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26 August 2010 12:41 [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS)--The European September monthly contract price (MCP) for butadiene has been agreed at ┬1,450/tonne ($1,835/tonne), down by ┬10/tonne from August, a major producer said on Thursday.

The contract, settled on a free delivered (FD) basis, was fully confirmed by one consumer and two main suppliers.

The lower contract settlement was mainly driven by improved availability in Europe, according to the players.

This was attributed to higher-than-expected cracker utilisation rates and a smaller-than-usual shift to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) this summer, sources said.

Stable-to-softer downstream demand in August also led to a better supply position.

An underlying bearish sentiment in other regions was also a contributory factor to the lower European contract price, the consumer said.

However, players said that the magnitude of the reduction was limited, offset by a number of upcoming cracker turnarounds in September, which could reduce supply flexibility.

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26 August 2010 08:09 [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Ethylene spot prices climbed to a three-month high of $1,000/tonne (┬790/tonne) in southeast Asia amid a scramble for spot material following cracker outages this week, market sources said on Thursday.

A deal for a 3,000-tonne cargo loading first half September was reported at $1,000/tonne FOB (free on board) southeast (SE) Asia mid-week while bids to purchase more September shipments were mentioned in the mid to high $900s/tonne FOB SE Asia.

⌠Because of the cracker troubles, supply is getting shorter, said an olefins trader based in Japan.

Market sources said Shell had shut its 800,000 tonne/year mixed feed cracker in Singapore early this week due to unspecified issues, and the producer could be in the market to buy some ethylene spot cargoes to cover contractual obligations.

It was not immediately clear if the plant had restarted but operations had not been stable this month, they added.

A company spokesman had earlier declined to comment on operational matters.

Separately, Japan's Mitsui Chemicals shut its 617,000 tonne/year naphtha cracker in Ichihara, Chiba prefecture, on Thursday due to mechanical issues.

It was not clear if the Japanese producer would need to buy ethylene from the spot market as the duration of the unplanned outage had yet to be confirmed, market sources said.

The cracker outages are also likely to exacerbate the already tight supply situation in northeast (NE) Asia.

Selling ideas remained above $1,000/tonne CFR (cost and freight) NE Asia, with discussions underway in the region, sources added.

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