LOS ANGELES
,
January 12, 2024
(Industry Intelligence Inc.)
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US Resins Spot PE market activity picked up following the New Year holiday, bringing prices to firmer levels compered to mid-December lows, according to The Plastics Exchange market update. PE trading was spread across all the main commodity resin grades. However, railcar offers have been more sparse for the past two weeks, giving sellers some leverage for a proposed US$0.05/lb contract increase for January. Through November, major spot price indices posted net gains of US$0.09/lb for PE. PP trading ended 2023 with strong activity before slowing in the first week of January. To start 2024, the spot PP market is about US$0.05/lb higher than at the start of 2023. PP contracts are about US$0.14-US$0.16/lb higher than they were 12 months ago. The primary source of this information is The Plastics Exchange. Ethylene trading during the first week of January started at a swift pace on Tuesday, according to The Plastics Exchange market update. Deals for January were seen in Texas at US$0.1825/lb, alongside four other transactions for the second quarter at US$0.19/lb. Propylene prices climbed during the week amid solid buying interest. Spot January deals were traded at US$0.455/lb. on Thursday. By the end of the week, the weighted average for spot January polymer-grade propylene hit US$0.475/lb. The primary source of this information is The Plastics Exchange. China’s rapidly expanding styrene capacity seen between 2020 and 2023 is poised to slow significantly, according to a report from Chemanalyst. China commissioned a total of 3.7 million tonnes of styrene capacity in 2023, bringing the overall productivity rates of plants to 70%-75%. Meanwhile, declining profitability of styrene is expected to lead to low sales volumes in 2024. The primary source of this information is MRC.
US Olefins
China Styrene Production
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