Many downstream petrochemical producers, including most synthetic latex producers, find themselves fighting for space on the value chain trapped between seemingly immovable endpoints-energy costs and large volume retailers. Feedstock costs, which have risen dramatically over the last two years, typically account for 75-85% of the total cost of producing synthetic lattices. Therefore, feedstock costs can have significant impact on a latex producer's success. Key monomers used to produce synthetic lattices include butadiene, styrene, ethylene, propylene, benzene and methanol. This paper will highlight forecast trends in energy prices, their impact, and other market trends in each of the major synthetic latex monomers to answer the question how long will commodity prices stay high.
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