Cracker outages sent ethylene and propylene prices spiralling last month

A series of major cracker outages from late October sent spot ethylene and propylene prices soaring in November. With a number of polymer plants down for scheduled maintenance the additional monomer shortages compounded an already tight supply situation.

L/LDPE and polypropylene suppliers had no problems in passing on the higher feedstock costs to their customers. There was however more customer resistance in the HDPE sector where material is not so short. PVC saw modest gains.

Polystyrene bucked the general price trend with producers giving away the Ђ20/tonne reduction in styrene contract prices. Availability improved and PS demand slowed down in October/November.

Production issues at crackers and some polymer plants may well persist until the end of the year, and feedstock costs seem set to continue on an upward trend. Producers are adamant that prices may yet rise further.

This month’s issue of European Plastics News includes prices for all commodity plastics, as well as POM and PMMA. Polymer prices are available by email monthly for Ј60 (E100).