Chemicals: Weekly: Coatings raws, Helium market dynamics, and Asian Acetic Acid pricing

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Chemicals: Weekly: Coatings raws, Helium market dynamics, and Asian Acetic Acid pricing

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Chemicals

Weekly: Coatings raws, Helium market

dynamics, and Asian Acetic Acid pricing

Industry Overview

Coatings raws inflation remains, but easing 29 June 2026

We updated our coatings raw material aggregator, which now forecasts MSD inflation in Equity

2H26 and LSD inflation for FY26, both lower than in our previous update. In 2H26, we United States

estimate raw material inflation of ~5.4% for architectural coatings and ~6.0% for Chemicals

industrial coatings (Exhibits 1-2), with full-year inflation of ~2.4% and ~2.8%, respectively. Matthew DeYoe, CFA

Much of the raw material basket inflation was driven by the Iran conflict, which pushed Research Analyst

plastic and crude derivatives higher, though pigments and tinplate also contributed to BofAS+1 646 855 5746

pressure. However, we have seen commodity prices trend downwards (June oil now ~22% matthew.deyoe@bofa.com

higher y/y vs. 33% in our last iteration) as the conflict has been “resolved”. At our virtual Hakim Sanfo

Research Analyst

coatings conference (See note: Virtual Coatings Conference Takeaways), Dow called out BofAS

MMA and VAM specifically as trending lower in recent weeks, while AXTA highlighted the +1 646 743 1557

hakim.sanfo@bofa.com

potential to be on the low end of its MSD ‘26 raw material inflation guide. The raw material

environment remains fluid, so we continue to monitor market and pricing developments

closely. Acronyms:

QatarEnergy explosion may keep helium tighter for longer ICIS: Independent Commodity

This past week there was an explosion at QatarEnergy’s Barzan gas processing facility Intelligence Services