Standard Thermoplastics Trend September: Potyolefin rise held to cost increase / PVC, styrenics with slight hikes

摘要

Negotiations over the September European contracts for ethylene, propylene and styrene took longer than usual as a possible war in Syria loomed on the horizon. In the second half of August, oil and petrochemical notations had already swelled globally amid the growing uncertainty, so that market watchers feared the worst for the key polymer feedstocks. When the numbers were finally agreed, at the beginning of September, ethylene was up EUR 50/t and propylene up EUR 60/t while styrene tacked on a hefty EUR 85/t. Though the rises were certainly not insignificant, at least for the olefins they were not as steep as feared and polyolefin producers were forced to quickly ditch their calls for triple-digit increases and trim expectations to EUR 60-80/t. Producers of PVC and sty-renic sellers also added a moderate margin-improving component of EUR 20-30/t to their hike announcements. In the first third of September, polyolefin producers just managed to pass on their higher monomer cost - for PE only barely. PP, by contrast, was trending higher. PVC and styrenic producers realised only minor margin improvements.