Celanese Corporation, Top US Acetyls Producer, Announces Second Price Hike of 2026

On May 11, 2026, Celanese Corporation (NYSE: CE) announced a new round of price increases across its acetyl product portfolio, effective immediately or as existing contracts and commitments allow. The Dallas-based specialty materials company stated that the adjustments apply to multiple acetyl derivatives sold in the United States, Canada, Mexico, South America, and the EMEA region.

In the United States and Canada, the price of acetic acid will rise by $0.05 per pound, while vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) will increase by $0.15 per pound. Ethyl acetate prices will go up by $0.04 per pound and acetic anhydride by $0.05 per pound. Equivalent regional adjustments cover Mexico, South America, and EMEA markets, where similar increases apply to the same acetyl portfolio. The increases extend across acetic acid, VAM, ethyl acetate, acetic anhydride, dispersions, solvents, and related downstream acetyl products.

This announcement is the second major acetyl price hike implemented by Celanese in 2026. On March 16, 2026, the company had introduced a steeper round of increases, including +$0.10 per pound on acetic acid, +$0.25 per pound on VAM, +$0.20 per pound on ethyl acetate, and +$0.15 per pound on acetic anhydride in the Americas. EMEA prices at that time rose by up to 800 euros per metric ton, and Mexico and South America saw increases of $125 to $700 per metric ton depending on the product. Celanese had also announced acetic acid and VAM increases in the Western Hemisphere on February 9, 2026, marking a sustained upward pricing trend across the first half of the year.

The company linked the latest adjustments to persistent raw material cost inflation and global supply chain tightness that have continued to affect the acetyls market through 2026. Disruptions tied to Middle East energy supply issues have weighed on methanol availability, a key feedstock for acetic acid production. In parallel, Celanese has been actively rebalancing its globally integrated network, including restarting its IPH Frankfurt VAM unit, commissioning a new VAE emulsions reactor, and pivoting Fairway methanol output toward European operations to secure supply.

Acetyl chemicals are critical intermediates used in coatings, adhesives, specialty polymers, automotive components, electronics, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, textiles, and food processing. The successive price increases are likely to ripple through these downstream industries, raising input costs for paint and coatings manufacturers, packaging producers, and adhesive formulators in particular. Vinyl acetate monomer pricing is especially closely watched because it feeds emulsion polymers used in paints, glues, and construction products.

Celanese reported 2025 net sales of $9.5 billion and employs more than 11,000 people worldwide. The company released its first quarter 2026 results in late April, posting adjusted earnings per share of $0.85 on revenue of $2.34 billion. Management guided second quarter adjusted EPS to a range of $2.00 to $2.40 and raised full-year free cash flow guidance to between $700 million and $800 million. The pricing actions support the Acetyl Chain segment, which reported a Q1 EBITDA of approximately $154 million. Following the recent announcements, the Celanese stock has shown strong momentum, recently trading near a 52-week high above $68 per share.