The December US acetone for MMA use contract was heard Monday settled at a rollover from November at 41.5 cents/lb ($914.66/mt).
The parties involved in the contract settlement could not be confirmed by time of publication. A market participant said the buyers for the acetone for MMA use contract typically include Dow Chemical, Evonik and Lucite, while the producers usually include Georgia Gulf, INEOS Phenol, Shell Chemical, Sunoco and Mitsui.
In the spot market, US acetone was last assessed Tuesday (December 13) at 42.5 cents/lb ($936.70/mt), the lowest levels seen for acetone in the US market so far in 2011.
Tuesday's acetone assessment was the lowest since December 21, 2010, when it was at 36.5 cents/lb ($805/mt) FOB USG, according to Platts data.
Last week, sources said US spot acetone prices could rise in January as at least three sellers have announced increases for the month, with Conchemco and Georgia Gulf heard nominating a 5 cents/lb price hike for January 1, while The Plaza Group seeks a 10 cents/lb increase, with a 5 cents/lb temporary voluntary allowance (TVA). Confirmation from Georgia Gulf was not available by time of publication.
A veteran US acetone trader said Monday that he expected the January acetone contract price to settle higher based on the recent higher price nominations in the spot market.
