ENGLISH
Buyers of standard thermoplastics faced steep price increases at the start of the New Year due to a rise in feedstock costs and seller determination to improve weak profit margins.
Polystyrene prices surged by €180/tonne on the back of a shock increase of €172/tonne in styrene monomer costs, which was in turn driven by benzene shortages. Polyethylene prices climbed between €70-80/tonne following a rise in ethylene contracts, while polypropylene was also up due to higher feedstock costs and continued tightness in upstream feedstock availability.
PET prices also followed the upward move in raw material costs. And while PVC price negotiations got off to a slow start, there again the direction was upward although not by as much as producers wanted.
The supply position for all polymer classes was fairly well balanced with continued weak demand levels. A number of cracker and feedstock plant outages did, however, heighten supply concerns.
For this month, a further round of polymer price increases is being widely predicted.
From:http://www.europeanplasticsnews.com
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