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Copyright 2013 Reed Business Information Limited. ICIS Pricing is a member of the Reed Elsevier plc group.
11th October 2013

Acetic Acid (Europe)
Editor: Sam Weatherlake sam.weatherlake@icis.com

CONTRACT PRICES
Click for Price History Price Range One year ago US CTS/LB
FD NWE Q3 EUR/TONNE n/c 445-525 n/c 430-520 27.37-32.29
FD NWE OCT EUR/TONNE +10 415-460 +10 410-440 25.52-28.29

SPOT PRICES
Click for Price History Price Range Four weeks ago US CTS/LB
FD NWE - TRUCKS EUR/TONNE n/c 470-500 n/c 460-500 28.91-30.75

NOTE: for full details on the criteria ICIS pricing uses in making these price assessments visit www.icispricing.com and
click on methodology.

October contract prices increase by 10/tonne

The impact of the rise in the Q4 methanol contract price was
seen in the European acetic acid market this week, as October
contract prices were concluded up by 10/tonne in most cases.
The 18/tonne increase in the methanol contract represents a
cost increase for acetic acid producers of about 10/tonne.
One producer said it had settled its October contracts at an
average increase of 10-15/tonne, but only the low end of this
range could be verified by other market participants.
There was general agreement that the acetic acid market
remains well-supplied. Spot prices for bulk parcel deliveries
were heard last week in the low 400s/tonne delivered.
The closure of INEOS's 300,000 tonne/year vinyl acetate
monomer (VAM) plant in Hull, the UK, last week is prompting
discussion in the market as to the likely effects on BP's acetic
acid operations at the same site. Assuming full capacity
utilisation, the VAM plant would have required approximately
225,000 tonnes/year of acetic acid. BP's Hull plant has a
nameplate capacity of 532,000 tonnes/year.
Production news
A source close to Ukraine-based Azot Severodonetsk said two
weeks ago that the producer had begun a turnaround at its
acetic acid and VAM units. The dates of the shutdown were
not disclosed. The Severodonetsk acetic acid plant has a
nameplate capacity of 150,000 tonnes/year, while the VAM
plant has a nameplate capacity of 35,000 tonnes/year.
Upstream
Crude futures remained pressured by the ongoing partial
shutdown of the US government while the country remained
close to a default on its loans. A default could halt the already
fragile recovery of the US economy and send shockwaves to
other nations, especially China and Japan, which are the
largest foreign investors in US Treasury bonds. Both contracts,
however, climbed during the latter part of the week as the
Republican party began to ease its stance and offered a short-
term debt ceiling extension that could avert a potential US
default.
The weekly stock data from the US Energy Information
Administration (EIA) showed a larger build on crude than
forecast and gasoline stocks edged higher.

Crude oil 11 Oct* 4 Oct 27 Sept 20 Sept
ICE Brent 111.50 109.46 108.63 109.22
WTI 101.75 103.84 102.87 104.75

Front month - $/bbl
*Afternoon trading
European methanol spot prices firmed this week on strong
buying interest from producers and limited offers. Sources said
that high prices in the US, which approached a five-year high
on renewed supply problems in Trinidad, had also influenced
the European market.
Downstream
The cost of producing purified terephthalic acid (PTA) is
decreasing in October compared with September, so PTA
formula contract prices will also see a decrease of around
15/tonne.

Acetic Acid (Europe)

Page 2 of 2

Several participants in the European VAM market said this
week that they expect the closure of INEOSs Hull plant to
have only a limited impact on availability. INEOS announced
on 4 October that it would close the 300,000 tonne/year plant,
explaining that low-cost imports and a hostile trading
environment made closure inevitable. A company source
confirmed that production was halted on the same day.
($1 = 0.74)


FEEDSTOCK PRICES (CONTRACT)
Click for Price History Price Range
METHANOL FOB RDAM Q4 EUR/TONNE +18.00 408.00-408.00 +18.00

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