PET prices took a surprising turn in November, following the lead of resin feedstocks paraxylene and purified terephthalic acid.
PET demand typically declines late in the year as temperatures cool off and beverage sales level off, making it more difficult for PET makers to raise prices. But in November, prices for PET bottle resin moved up 4 cents per pound on the Plastics News resin pricing chart.
As with PVC, which also saw a November increase, Hurricane Ida continues to impact PET. A resin plant operated by DAK Americas in Bay St. Louis, Miss., lost some production after the storm, tightening supplies in an already tight market.
A fatal accident in July at a plant operated by LyondellBasell Industries in La Porte, Texas, also impacted supplies of acetic acid. That material is used in production of purified terephthalic acid (PTA), which is a feedstock for PET resin.
The DAK and LyondellBasell events separately in a normal market might not have had much impact, but in the tight market of 2021, their impact was magnified. Prior to the 4-cent hike in November, regional PET prices had been flat for three months. PET prices are now up 26 cents so far in 2021.