Engineering thermoplastics in August 2011: ABS and PBT rise despite holiday lull/ Monomer reduction prompts fall in PP compounds / Bottlenecks ease as demand drops / Automotive still lively / Risk of price hikes remains

摘要

European engineering thermoplastics prices mostly remained stable at a high level in the holiday month of August. Solely as a result of rising feedstock costs did ABS and PBT notations rise by about EUR 50/t. The only engineering materials to go down were PP compounds, slipping by EUR 10/t in response to the fall in monomer costs. All other engineering polymers rolled over. With the start to the main vacation period in southern Europe, demand for engineering thermoplastics declined considerably. As a result, the bottlenecks with PC and PBT eased. Even POM was more readily available. In fact, some producers of ABS, PA and PP compounds even had to reduce output to maintain the balance. With business slack, buyers saw good potential for lower prices, putting an even bigger damper on sales of engineering thermoplastics.