PMMA supply in June 2021 remains short in Europe as buyers struggle to fulfil all requirements amid ongoing issues.
A tight market will support further increases in Q3. While the PMMA supply in June is not as critically short as in some other markets, such as polycarbonate (PC), it is tight enough to support increases.
Production issues, logistic delays, good demand, and low imports contributed to the tightness.
Buyers should be unable to negotiate rollovers during the next round of negotiation, especially when costs are going up.
Roehm declared force majeure (FM) recently on the major feedstock methyl methacrylate (MMA), fuelling an already tight market.
Moreover, the summer shows no signs of slowing down and the strong activity downstream should continue until Q4.
With PMMA supply in June remaining tight, the price increases in Q3 will take values closer but below PC prices.
However, if there are no more supply issues, the seasonal slowdown later in the year could bring some balance.
But with the pandemic ongoing, it is likely that market dynamics will not change dramatically until well into 2022.