North American buyers of most commodity resins have been seeing higher resin prices in February and March.
Polyethylene was a notable exception, which surprised market watchers who had expected a 5-cent hike to take hold. In the March Polymers Points Live, Frank Esposito talks about why the market was flat in February and what might be coming in March and April. Watch the recording below.
He also covers volatility in polypropylene, which have primarily been following prices for polymer-grade propylene. PP prices were up 4 cents per pound in February and 3 cents in January. But Esposito notes that one supplier expects PGP prices to drop 12-15 cents per pound between March and May, which could signal lower PP resin prices.
PET, nylon, polycarbonate and ABS prices have also been rising, and Esposito talks about the supply and demand picture for those materials.
Other topics included polystyrene and PVC, where prices were up in both February and March. The next Polymers Points Live is scheduled for Tuesday, April 16.