Resin Prices

RESIN BUYING TIP OF THE MONTH

FEB: Expect demand pricing pressure in Q2
The buying mood in Asia after the New Year will have a large impact on global resin pricing. Strong energy has supported higher pricing in Asia, despite weak demand. If the Asian processors do not buy then global inventories will build, creating an over-supplied market and demand pricing pressure in the second quarter.
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Information in this section is supplied courtesy of www.ThePlasticsExchange.com, a company based in Chicago that operates an online spot market and provides market intelligence on commodity plastic resins. Prices are in U.S. funds, and are updated throughout the day.

Polyethylene:

The Polyethylene market remains supported by relatively tight upstream inventories and rising spot monomer costs. Spot PE prices were steady to higher depending on material; film grades were the strongest, particularly LDPE, which is suffering from production issues. HDPE supplies remain adequate, although in many cases, these prices have also ticked higher. Producers and processors continue to spar regarding the January price increase. Producers remain intent to maintain the $.06/lb increase that they have billed for Jan contracts. Buyers however, see spot sales at prices less than the current increase as well as consultancies and notable market observers who have indicated the market steady to $.03/lb higher. One thing is for certain, if producers do not get their increase in Jan, they will go for it again in Feb.  [More]

Polypropylene:

Spot Polypropylene continued to rally, adding another $.03/lb; prices are now up about a nickel during January. This is significant price movement considering that PP contracts were steady in both Jan and Dec. The current deviation is based on tight inventories from end of the year de-stocking along with tempered resin production which created an under-supplied environment, and more recently the rapid-run up in spot monomer costs. Spot monomer for Jan is now nearly $.10/lb above contracts and Feb PGP traded even a nickel above that, but on low volume. The upward momentum was enough to spur one producer to seek a huge $.22/lb price increase for Feb Polypropylene contracts. Some buyers have reacted with disbelief, some with anger, while others are just trying to buy up as much well-priced spot material as possible. We have had some difficulty moving material in the low $.70s/lb, so asking prices in the high $.80s/lb come next week seems unrealistic. [More]

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Disclaimer: The information and data in this report is gathered from exchange observations as well as interactions with producers, distributors, brokers, and processors. These sources are considered reliable. The accuracy and completeness of this information is not guaranteed. Any decision to purchase or sell as a result of the opinions expressed in this report will be the full responsibility of the person authorizing such transaction. Our market updates are compiled with integrity and we hope that you find them of value.

Chart values reflect our asking prices of generic prime railcars delivered USA.