Polymer Prices World Regions

Russia August 2016: Market lies dormant, or dead, in the heat of summer / Solely PVC remains tight / Strong downward pressure on prices continues unabated

China Standard Thermoplastics August 2016: Feedstock prices rise / Maintenance season in high gear / Polymer prices stable to slightly soft / Demand satisfactory to sluggish / Inventories normal to slightly low / Outlook for September fair

China Engineering Thermoplastics July 2016: Following initial rise, cost of imported feedstocks weakens / ABS, PC, PA and PMMA point up, while other grades decline / Seasonally low demand for PA, POM, PBT / Outlook for August similar

China Standard Thermoplastics July 2016: Ethylene and styrene import quotes drop / Propylene firm / Demand satisfactory / Aside from PE and PET, all grades point up / Imported polymer notations also rise / Little change expected in August

North America July 2016: PE still trending stable / PP may have bottomed out / PVC and PS under latent upward pressure / Engineering thermoplastics notations mostly calm / Price offensive for PA 6

Russia July 2016: Mostly smooth sailing / Angarsk hub resumes production only to suffer renewed technical glitch / Poor demand takes LDPE down / Tight availability drives PVC further up

China Engineering Thermoplastics June 2016: Feedstock import quotes rally while domestic prices soften / Polymer notations firm to slightly down / Consumption quite good / Slight movements up or down expected for July

China Standard Thermoplastics June 2016: Tight supplies push ethylene and styrene import quotes higher while propylene remains stable / Domestic polymer producers launch hikes / Average consumption levels / Little change expected in July

North America June 2016: PE notations tread water / PP once again in free fall / PVC trending slightly up / Styrenics stable / Engineering thermoplastics moving sideways

Russia June 2016: Summer months bring calm to markets / Angarsk hub about to restart? / Only PVC continues to rise / Stability expected in July

North America May 2016: Plastics markets mostly stable / Only PP continues to slide / Feedstocks under pressure / Downtrend expected for the coming months

China Engineering Thermoplastics May 2016: Feedstock costs slide despite maintenance cycle / Aside from PA, all polymers point down / Consumption levels considered average / Positive outlook for June

China Standard Thermoplastics May 2016: Feedstock quotes slide / Following initial downtrend, rise in oil and end to maintenance cycle take polymer notations up / Consumption in line with expectations / Prices likely to remain soft in June

Russia May 2016: Most notations roll over / Despite slide, LDPE remains high-priced / PVC still inching up following outage in Angarsk / Little change expected for June

China Engineering Thermoplastics April 2016: Increase in oil and tight supply drive up most feedstocks / Polymer notations firm to rising / PMMA skyrockets / Outlook for May mostly seasonally normal

Russia April 2016: Maintenance and FM takes LDPE up / HDPE crumbles / Logistical problems drive up PP and PS / PVC and PET see gains

North America April 2016: Polyethylene rises again / PP drifting down / PVC and polystyrene pointing up / ABS and PA 6 with notable increases / PC and PA 6.6 continue to erode

China Standard Thermoplastics April 2016: Ethylene and styrene point down while propylene stays firm / Downtrend for polymers sets in by mid-month / Demand higher in first half of April / Inventory build-up / May business likely to be seasonally normal

China Engineering Thermoplastics March 2016: Tight supply and strong demand drive up feedstock costs / ABS and PC rising, while other grades remain firm / Demand quite strong / Prospects for April range from stability to slight increases

North America March 2016: PE makes up some lost ground / High-priced PP headed for a correction / Increase in PVC comes as a surprise / Despite pressure, PS still holds stable / Engineering thermoplastics continue to tumble

China Standard Thermoplastics March 2016: Peak of maintenance cycle pushes feedstock costs higher / Polymer prices rise significantly / Strong demand / Inventory levels mostly normal, with some materials trending short / Further uptrend in April

Russia March 2016: Force majeure at Angarsk continues to drive PVC up / LDPE also rising / HDPE injection moulding grades slide, correcting earlier imbalance / No significant changes for PP and PS

China Engineering Thermoplastics February 2016: Cost of key feedstocks rises / ABS and PC point up, while PA remains depressed / Consumption considered satisfactory despite Chinese New Year holidays / March outlook positive

North America February 2016: Little market impulses / PE descends / PP's rise comes to an end / PVC treads water / PS slides / Engineering thermoplastics remain under pressure

Russia February 2016: Force majeure at Angarsk production hub lifts PVC and LDPE notations / All other grades mostly tread water / Exchange rate fluctuations propel PET higher once again