Polymer Price Reports Released for March 2019

The latest polymer price reports and charts have been released by Plastrack.

Standard Thermoplastics Trends March 2019:

Ethylene (C2) Feedstock – in March prices increased by Eur 34/mt driven by higher naphtha prices and lower availability levels. Planned maintenance outages appear to be having little effect on supply demand which is currently well balanced but at low levels.

Propylene (C3) – In March prices increased by Eur 23/mt driven by increases in prices of naphtha. Supply and demand are at low levels. Supply is reduced in line with planned maintenance outages but demand is weak.

LDPE, LLDPE, HDPE price movements were seen during the month on the back of increases in Ethylene C2 feedstock prices. Both demand and supply are at normal levels.

PP pricing increased during the month attributed to increases in Propylene C3 monomer. Both demand and supply were at low levels. Forward predictions are of price increases with producers attempting to recover margins which have been eroded due to the C3 monomer price rises.

PVC pricing increased by Eur 11/mt in the month of March. The market appears to be well balanced with demand and supply at normal levels.

Styrenic prices increased by Eur 77/mt in the period driven by higher prices of SM. Further rises in SM prices which have been seen in April will no doubt lead to a sharp price increase in the coming month. Demand and supply are balanced and at normal levels.

Engineering Thermoplastics Trends March 2019:

Benzene feedstock pricing increased by Eur 74/mt. Planned maintenance outages have lowered supply levels. Demand is at normal levels.

PC prices were largely stable in March. Low levels of demand and strong levels of supply prevented producers increasing price levels.

PA6 pricing reduced by Eur 45/mt in the month of March. Supply continues at very low levels and demand is still weak on the back of lower automotive demand. Further price falls are predicted in the coming period driven by the continued weaker demand.

PA66 pricing was largely stable in the March. Supply and demand are imbalanced with normal supply levels and much lower demand. The continuing sluggishness of the automotive segment is continuing to tip the demand versus supply balance. Price reductions are predicted in the coming month.

PBT pricing averages increased by Eur 2/mt in March. Supply and demand continue to be at low levels. Price stability is predicted in the coming period.

POM pricing reduced by Eur 4/mt during the month. Supply is at normal levels with a larger number of imports reported. Demand is at low levels (particularly from the automotive sector). Forward price reductions are expected in line with the supply/demand imbalance.

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. Forward price reductions are anticipated.

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.