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PS PRICES MAY BE TURNING AROUND Polystyrene prices moved up 8¢/lb in February, following the 5¢/lb January hike, driven by continued price increases in benzene contracts and styrene monomer. Both PCW and Mark Kallman, RTi's v.p. of client services for engineering resins, PS, and PVC, confirmed that PS suppliers issued March price increases of 6-12¢/lb. Kallman noted that these new price hikes are not justified by feedstock costs. For one thing, March benzene contracts were offered at $3.26/gal. "Although it's only 7¢/gal lower, it's enough to say we may be turning the corner," Kallman said. Similarly, while February styrene monomer spot prices jumped up by 20¢/lb, they were already trending downward in the first week of March. Monomer price increases were driven by globally tight supply due to both planned and unplanned outages. Kallman ventured that PS suppliers' push for the March increases would likely be hampered to some extent by lower benzene and styrene monomer prices. He added that demand for PS has been steady, though somewhat diminished due to the price hikes. Still, processors will need to buy as they enter the traditionally busy second quarter. PVC PRICES COULD STABILIZE PVC prices moved up the full 4¢/lb sought by suppliers in February. Moreover, suppliers came out with a 3¢/lb increase for March, and there was another "reinforcing" 3¢/lb increase for April from a couple of suppliers, according to RTi's Kallman. One driver for the already imple- mented increase was the February ethylene contract settlement, up 2.5¢/lb. However, spot ethylene prices began to significantly decrease in early March. Kallman ventured that PVC prices for March were likely to roll over due to the falling ethylene prices. "Whether prices move up further will be largely dependent on supply-demand balance," said Kallman. This includes both domestic demand as we approach the busier construction season, as well as exports due to PVC production outages in China. PET PRICES PUSHED BY FEEDSTOCKS Domestic bottle-grade prime PET prices in February averaged 58.3¢/lb, up 2¢/lb from January, based on PCW's Daily PET Report. That price represents PET on a delivered Chicago basis. On March 3, the price was 58¢/lb. that would bring the spread to 13-16¢/lb, which would open the door for finished PE imports (e.g., bags). He added that Asian PE prices are going down and their inventories are in good shape. PCW reported in early March that PE spot prices were mostly higher, with limited export activity, though high volumes sold earlier in the year were still moving to the ports. Following heavy domestic buying in January and February, there was some talk that domestic sales could cool off in March. Similarly, Greenberg reported at the end of February, "Incremental domestic demand has been lacking, as major processors seem to be well served with direct availability. While suppliers are out looking for orders, nobody is willing to really dump on price." Greenberg also noted that the absence of plentiful material, along with very high margins and lackluster demand, point to reduced operating rates. PP PRICES HIGHER Polypropylene prices moved up 6¢/lb in February, in step with propylene monomer contracts, and driven by several planned and unplanned outages. By the end of that month, spot monomer prices were rallying upward by as much 5¢/lb, according to PCW, Greenberg, and Scott Newell, RTi's v.p. of PP markets. "Processors are still knee-deep from the 16.5¢/lb contract-price increase during January/February; but rather than getting some hopeful relief in March (which we never thought would happen), the market is poised for yet another increase ahead," reported Greenberg. Newell ventured in early March that it was too early to say how things would shake out. He noted that March monomer and PP contracts could increase by another 4-5¢/lb but that things could turn around as well. "Monomer has been short and overpriced but the market is in the process of trying to rebalance, and we could see that happen in April." PP domestic demand in February was slow, with processors buying as needed. This was due not only to the price increases, but also to a lot of prebuying at the end of 2016, most of which shipped in January, which thus appeared to be a strong demand month. "Once prices make their correction, demand will improve," noted Newell. Both Newell and PCW noted the oppor- tunity for imports of attractively-priced PP pellets from Latin America and the Middle East. Still, prices are not at the high levels seen last year. PCW reported in early March that PP spot prices were up 1-2¢/lb with limited availability. Domestic demand was expected to slow in March, based on forecasts that monomer and PP contract prices will approach their peaks. PVC Price Trends Pipe FEB MARCH Gen. Purpose FEB MARCH Polystyrene Price Trends GPPS FEB MARCH HIPS FEB MARCH 8¢/lb 8¢/lb Polypropylene Price Trends Homopolymer FEB MARCH Copolymer FEB MARCH 6¢/lb 6¢/lb 4¢/lb 4¢/lb 78 APRIL 2017 Plastics Technology PTonline.com YO U R B U S I N E S S Resin Pricing Analy sis