Engineering Thermoplastics April 2014: Price upswing starts to gain momentum / PA 6, POM and PMMA rise / PC, PA 6.6 and PBT notations flat / Automotive demand still quite lively / More price hikes on the horizon

摘要

European engineering thermoplastics prices are gradually moving upward as 2014 progresses. PA 6, driven in particular by benzene, was hit the hardest in April as producers leveraging an already tight market pushed through hikes. Despite their efforts, PC and PA 6.6 did not show much momentum and most prices rolled over. The situation for PBT was similar. While notations for specified POM rose, cheap imports kept standard products on a tight leash. PMMA's upswing largely paralleled that of PA 6. By contrast, the near-commodities ABS and PP compounds rose only moderately.