Tokyo (Platts)--14Dec2012/654 am EST/1154 GMT

Japan's output of vinyl acetate monomer in October rose 3% month on month to 38,137 mt, but was down 26% from a year earlier, data released Thursday by the Japan VAM and PVOH Industry Association showed.

VAM inventory at the end of October stood at 49,413 mt, down 4% from the end of September, and down 5% year on year.

The output of major VAM derivative polyvinyl alcohol rose 14% in October from a month earlier to 15,955 mt, but was down 15% year on year.

In the first 10 months of 2012, 75% of Japan's total VAM output of 414,973 mt was used for PVA production, the data showed.

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Exports of PVA totaled 7,239 mt in October, up 0.4% from September but down 2% from a year earlier.

PVA stocks at the end of October rose 0.2% month on month to 55,663 mt, but were down 1% from a year earlier.

PVA and its downstream products are used in the production of LCD screens and adhesives, as an interlayer in glass for automobiles and buildings, and as a paper processing agent and stabilizer for PVC polymerization.

--Anton Ferkov, anton_ferkov@platts.com
--Edited by E Shailaja Nair, shailaja_nair@platts.com

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