Most North American commodity resins were flat or up slightly in June, but the outlook for July and August could be for price increases.
In the July Polymer Points Live, senior reporter Frank Esposito said weather-related outages could help drive polyethylene and polypropylene prices higher, even though demand continues to be sluggish. Recording below.
“Even though Hurricane Beryl did not have a huge physical impact on the [resin] plants, it did affect production,” Esposito said.
In June, prices for PE and polystyrene were flat. PVC and PET bottle resin were each up 1 cent per pound, and PP was up 2 cents.
PVC and PET prices have already settled for July, both are up 1 cent. But PE, PP and PS buyers may see higher prices, including additional margin on top of feedstock-related increases for PP. See the video below for details.
Esposito also discussed the potential impact on the high-impact PS resin market of a tornado knocking out power to an Americas Styrenics plant in Joliet, Ill.
Other topics include recycled and engineering resin pricing, and what’s going on with a recent nonmarket correction for PE.