The latest polymer price reports and charts have been released by Plastrack.
Standard Thermoplastics Trends February 2019:
Ethylene (C2) Feedstock – in February prices increased by Eur 23/mt driven by higher oil prices and lower availability levels. Supply and demand are at normal levels.
Propylene (C3) – in February prices increased by Eur 26/mt driven by increases in prices of naphtha. Increasing imports and lower than predicted levels of demand prevented further price escalation. Demand and supply are at normal levels.
LDPE, LLDPE, HDPE prices were largely stable during February save for very small price adjustments. Both demand and supply are at normal levels.
PP pricing was largely stable during the period. Lower levels of demand caused by plant outages were offset with lower levels of demand. Forward predictions are of price increases as producers look to recover the recent increase in Propylene base monomer.
PVC pricing reduced by Eur 6/mt in the month of February. Demand and supply are at normal levels despite an FM declared at a large producer (this only caused a short interruption and the plant is starting back up). Forward pricing levels are set to rise as capacity is restricted with maintenance shutdowns and producers look to recover recent increases in C2 monomer prices.
Styrenic prices increased by Eur 14/mt in the period driven by higher prices of SM. Demand and supply are balanced (and at normal levels) though forward pricing is set to continue with further rises in SM being passed through the supply chain.
Engineering Thermoplastics Trends February 2019:
Benzene feedstock pricing increased by Eur 68/mt. Supply and demand are at strong but balanced levels.
PC prices reduced by Eur 78/mt in February. Low levels of demand and strong levels of supply prevented producers increasing price levels. Forward price levels are expected to decrease due to the imbalance between supply and demand.
PA6 pricing was largely stable in the month of January. Supply continues at very low levels and demand is still weak on the back of lower automotive demand. Price falls are predicted in the coming period driven by the continued weaker demand.
PA66 pricing reduced by Eur 93/mt in the month. Supply and demand are imbalanced with normal supply levels and much lower demand. The slow automotive segment is causing a surplus of supply in the market. Forward price reductions are expected with predictions of a further slowdown in automotive demand and no change expected in the supply situation.
PBT pricing averages decreased by Eur 5/mt in February. Supply and demand continue to be at low levels. Price stability is predicted in the coming period.
POM pricing increased by Eur 5/mt during the month. Supply and demand continue to be at low levels. Forward price reductions are expected with predictions of a further slowdown in automotive demand and no change expected in the supply situation.
PMMA pricing was largely stable during the month. Supply continues at normal levels but demand continues at low levels with no improvement in sight for the automotive sector.
Plastrack Polymer Price Index
Plastrack is a web based tool which can be accessed by desktop, tablet or mobile and provides pricing data on the most common feedstocks and polymers. Prices are updated on a monthly basis based on information obtained by Plastrack researchers directly from plastics producers, traders, distributors and converters. Visit Plastrack’s website for more information.