What is driving the recent price surge in butyl methacrylate and related methacrylate monomers?

What is driving the recent price surge in butyl methacrylate and related methacrylate monomers?
The methacrylate complex is under significant pricing pressure from both cost-push and supply-side constraints. Acrylic acid and butyl acrylate prices jumped 200-400 yuan/ton in a single round of producer adjustments, with major players like Wanhua Chemical and Satellite Chemical leading increases across East, North and Northeast China. The root cause is upstream feedstock strength, particularly crude-linked cost escalation and tight supply of C4 derivatives. On the MMA side, which shares production economics with butyl methacrylate, prices have climbed to 14,150-14,500 yuan/ton in Shandong and East China, up 500-800 yuan/ton after the Qingming holiday. Supply remains constrained: three C4-route MMA plants have been idle since 2022 due to poor margins, while several ACH-route units are down for maintenance or running at reduced rates, keeping spot availability scarce despite downstream resistance to high prices.