The Urethane Blog
July 26, 2022
EU Natural Gas Prices Soar As Gazprom Readies Nord Stream Cuts, US NatGas Hits 14-Year High
by Tyler DurdenTuesday, Jul 26, 2022 – 09:16 AM
European natural gas futures extended gains by 12% after Russian state-owned energy producer Gazprom PJSC unexpectedly announced it would halt a Nord Stream 1 turbine at its Portovaya compressor station from Wednesday. Simultaneously, US NatGas futures have spiked to 14-year highs.
Russian NatGas supplies to Europe via Nord Stream pipeline fell to 38% capacity from 40% on Tuesday, ahead of a more significant cut from current levels to just 20% on Wednesday.
In a statement, Gazprom said the Nord Stream pipeline would be pumping 33 million cubic meters a day, or 20% of capacity, from Wednesday, adding another turbine for the pipeline will be taken offline due to maintenance work.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said another Nord Stream turbine has “problems” and will be taken offline for maintenance.
Peskov noted a turbine sent to Canada earlier is “en route” but didn’t specify its exact location.
Western sanctions prolonged the average maintenance time of the Nord Stream.
“The situation is critically aggravated by the restrictions and sanctions imposed against our country,” the Kremlin spokesman continued.
Russian state media reported Monday that the turbine recently serviced in Canada by Siemens Energy AG had finally received export paperwork that will allow it to be shipped from Germany to Helsinki, Finland.
Nord Stream’s upcoming capacity declines sent Wholesale European NatGas futures up 12% to 196 euros. Prices have jumped more than 20% in two sessions and are near highs seen last winter at more than 200 euros.
EU Natgas prices are trading at an oil-barrel-equivalent price of $333….
Across the Atlantic, US NatGas futures extended gains, up more than 10% to $9.62, a 14-year high, amid concerns about hot weather and tight supplies.
“Although the magnitude and speed of recent natural gas price gains point to contributing non-fundamental market dynamics, supportive fundamentals are nonetheless the primary driver,” EBW Analytics Group wrote in a note to clients.
“Fundamentally, scorching hot weather is the predominant bullish driver,” the firm added.
There’s also reason to believe that tighter European supplies would result in more US LNG exports abroad.
For more context, European NatGas 1m forward is trading at a massive $48 spread over front-month US NatGas futures – almost 5x its historical peak…
Europe’s energy crisis continues to worsen, and there is no immediate relief in sight as this coming winter could be a cold one.
“This is not the end of Russia’s weaponization of natural gas flows, in our view, and there remain few near-term alternatives for even current reduced flows to the EU – lending [to] ongoing upside price risks,” RBC wrote last week in a note to clients.
July 26, 2022
New Home Sales & Prices Plunged In June As Pulte Admits Order Cancellations Are Soaring
by Tyler DurdenTuesday, Jul 26, 2022 – 10:06 AM
Amid a plunge in homebuilder confidence, record low affordability, tumbling single-family starts and permits, and multi-decade lows in mortgage applications, it is no surprise that analysts expected a 5.9% MoM plunge in new home sales in June (especially after the surprise 10.7% MoM panic-buying surge in May). The consensus was right in direction but off in magnitude as new home sales plunged 8.1% MoM in June and the 10.7% surge in May was revised down to just +6.3% MoM…
Source: Bloomberg
New Home Sales have fallen for 5 of the last 6 months and the last few months have seen a one-way street of downwards revisions…
The New Home Sales SAAR has tumbled to its lowest since the nadir of the COVID lockdowns in April 2020…
Source: Bloomberg
A potential silver lining is that inventory is finally on the rise with 9.3 months of supply seen in June, up from 8.4 in the prior month.
And the best news of all – the median new home price tumbled 9.5% MoM to $402,400…
With median home price gains slowing dramatically YoY…
This new home sales print comes on the day that Pulte Homes admits buyers have hit a wall and is “dialling back” its spec-home-starts, noting that the homebuilder’s cancellation rate more than doubled to 15% in Q2 from 7% in the year-ago quarter, as soaring home prices and mortgage rates hinder affordability.
“The recent 200-basis point increase in mortgage rates has impacted affordability, but we continue to believe the desire for homeownership is high and the long-term outlook for housing remains positive,” said CEO and President Ryan Marshall.
Source: Bloomberg
Most notably perhaps was Marshall’s admission that the uptick in cancellations has been in the last 30-60 days, perhaps mirroring the plunge in homebuilder confidence (and Walmart) as the ‘strong American consumer’ appears to have pulled back into its shell.
July 26, 2022
New Home Sales & Prices Plunged In June As Pulte Admits Order Cancellations Are Soaring
by Tyler DurdenTuesday, Jul 26, 2022 – 10:06 AM
Amid a plunge in homebuilder confidence, record low affordability, tumbling single-family starts and permits, and multi-decade lows in mortgage applications, it is no surprise that analysts expected a 5.9% MoM plunge in new home sales in June (especially after the surprise 10.7% MoM panic-buying surge in May). The consensus was right in direction but off in magnitude as new home sales plunged 8.1% MoM in June and the 10.7% surge in May was revised down to just +6.3% MoM…
Source: Bloomberg
New Home Sales have fallen for 5 of the last 6 months and the last few months have seen a one-way street of downwards revisions…
The New Home Sales SAAR has tumbled to its lowest since the nadir of the COVID lockdowns in April 2020…
Source: Bloomberg
A potential silver lining is that inventory is finally on the rise with 9.3 months of supply seen in June, up from 8.4 in the prior month.
And the best news of all – the median new home price tumbled 9.5% MoM to $402,400…
With median home price gains slowing dramatically YoY…
This new home sales print comes on the day that Pulte Homes admits buyers have hit a wall and is “dialling back” its spec-home-starts, noting that the homebuilder’s cancellation rate more than doubled to 15% in Q2 from 7% in the year-ago quarter, as soaring home prices and mortgage rates hinder affordability.
“The recent 200-basis point increase in mortgage rates has impacted affordability, but we continue to believe the desire for homeownership is high and the long-term outlook for housing remains positive,” said CEO and President Ryan Marshall.
Source: Bloomberg
Most notably perhaps was Marshall’s admission that the uptick in cancellations has been in the last 30-60 days, perhaps mirroring the plunge in homebuilder confidence (and Walmart) as the ‘strong American consumer’ appears to have pulled back into its shell.
July 25, 2022
Wm. T. Burnett & Co. Acquires Flex Foam
Baltimore, MD, June 16, 2022-Wm. T. Burnett & Co., headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, has acquired Flex Foam, the first polyurethane foam manufacturer in Arizona. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.
“The addition of Flex Foam to Wm. T. Burnett marks an important milestone in the 137-year history of the company,” said Richard B.C. Tucker, Jr., chief executive officer of the Burnett Group. “Like Burnett, Flex Foam was a family-owned business with which we share common values, including a commitment to provide the highest levels of quality and customer service. We look forward to building on our legacy of innovation in the polyurethane industry with broader reach in the western United States.”
Flex Foam was founded in Phoenix in 1978 by Russ Cortright and his sons Mike and Steve Cortright. The company specializes in producing polyurethane foam for use in bedding, furniture, packaging, carpet underlay, medical components, sports equipment, and acoustic performance products.
Wm. T. Burnett is no stranger to Phoenix, as the company currently operates one of its nonwovens manufacturing facilities in the city. Burnett’s urethane foam division is headquartered in Jessup, Maryland, while the nonwovens division is based in Statesville, North Carolina.
https://www.floordaily.net/flooring-news/wm-t-burnett-co-acquires-flex-foam
July 25, 2022
Wm. T. Burnett & Co. Acquires Flex Foam
Baltimore, MD, June 16, 2022-Wm. T. Burnett & Co., headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, has acquired Flex Foam, the first polyurethane foam manufacturer in Arizona. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.
“The addition of Flex Foam to Wm. T. Burnett marks an important milestone in the 137-year history of the company,” said Richard B.C. Tucker, Jr., chief executive officer of the Burnett Group. “Like Burnett, Flex Foam was a family-owned business with which we share common values, including a commitment to provide the highest levels of quality and customer service. We look forward to building on our legacy of innovation in the polyurethane industry with broader reach in the western United States.”
Flex Foam was founded in Phoenix in 1978 by Russ Cortright and his sons Mike and Steve Cortright. The company specializes in producing polyurethane foam for use in bedding, furniture, packaging, carpet underlay, medical components, sports equipment, and acoustic performance products.
Wm. T. Burnett is no stranger to Phoenix, as the company currently operates one of its nonwovens manufacturing facilities in the city. Burnett’s urethane foam division is headquartered in Jessup, Maryland, while the nonwovens division is based in Statesville, North Carolina.
https://www.floordaily.net/flooring-news/wm-t-burnett-co-acquires-flex-foam
Everchem Updates Archive 
Sign Up for Email Updates
