Polymer Prices World Regions China

China Engineering Thermoplastics May/June 2013: Feedstock prices remain generally soft / Butadiene retreats / Pricing stable to slight drop

China Standard Thermoplastics May/June 2013: Feedstock pricing strengthens / Commodity business picks up / Prices lift on renewed optimism

China Engineering Thermoplastics April/May 2013: Feedstock prices generally soft / Butadiene finally wakes up / Pricing stable to slight drop

China Standard Thermoplastics April/May 2013: Mixed bag of perspectives / Ethylene pricing continues depressed / Largely stable pricing / Some slight upward movements / Downstream processing capacity utilisation 70%

China Engineering Thermoplastics March/April 2013: Feedstock prices continue to slide / ABS, PC tending soft / Little movement for PA, POM and PMMA

China Standard Thermoplastics March/April 2013: Market mostly stable / Feedstock prices soft / Local manufacturers cut polymer notations to move volumes / No signs of an imminent revival

China Engineering Thermoplastics February/March 2013: Feedstock prices down post-Chinese new year / Plans to hike ABS prices / PC also rising / Little movement for polyamides, PBT and POM

China Standard Thermoplastics February/March 2013: Production slowly returns to normal following New Year holidays / Feedstock and polymer notations weak / Widely expected post-holiday run fails to materialise / Highly dependent on styrene imports

China Engineering Thermoplastics January/February 2013: Feedstock prices see moderate rises ahead of lunar new year break / PC largely stable / ABS slightly up / Introducing PIE's latest China price report

China Standard Thermoplastics January/February 2013: Sector at standstill as country celebrates lunar new year / C2 and C3 notations rising / Calls for higher prices once holiday period ends / Consumption expected to rebound in Year of the Snake

China December 2012 / January 2013: Twin hikes for feedstocks and thermoplastics / PS notations set new record / Last push before two-week Chinese New Year hiatus / Petrochemical sector's pre-tax profit down 8% year-on-year over first 10 months of 2011

China November/December 2012: Mostly quiet on the polymer front / Market unsupportive of price hikes / Feedstocks appear to be rising again / Producers plan to cut output to raise prices

China October/November 2012: Domestic polyolefin notations ease off / Moderate gains for imports / Polystyrene charts its own upward path / Demand from the internal market still slack

China September/October 2012: Olefins up slightly / High ambitions of Chinese polymer suppliers dampened by sluggish demand / Subdued prospects

China August/September 2012: Feedstock prices rise / Polymers follow suit / July ethylene output down / More than 13m t of resin imported this year so far

China July/August 2012: Feedstocks follow oil's upward course / Polyolefin, PVC notations wobble slightly / Styrenics firm / No evident summer lull / Countrywide PE and PP inventories lower than last year

China June/July 2012: Oil price causes notations to go all haywire / Most grades post losses / Early July sees first signs of an upward trend / PVC stagnant / Ethylene output down year-on-year

China May/June 2012: Notations continue to follow the feedstock costs down / Traders reluctant to buy / Production curbs and extended maintenances / Nominal ethylene demand drops for the first time in three years

China April/May 2012: Rollercoaster notations heading downward / Producers grapple with high production costs and reduced revenues / Plunging oil price and Europe debt crisis loom

China March/April 2012: Slowdown in demand dampens increases for PE / PP, PVC and PS largely stable or tending downwards / Automotive sales slide / Fewer resin imports / Cautious outlook

China February/March 2012: Hardly any demand growth as work resumes post-Chinese New Year / Exports slow / Business expected to pick up again as agricultural season starts / Oil price could push notations up

Chinese standard thermoplastics notations largely stable in mid-February

China January/February 2012: Lunar New Year puts polymer trade to a standstill / Business slow as facilities are restarted / Price hikes average 3-5% / Most standard thermoplastics see slight rises

China January 2012: 34m t of standard thermoplastics produced in 2011 / Imports exceed 23m t / Three leading trade centres determine polymer pricing / First in a new series of special reports