Scandoil  

Platts: Petrochemical Prices Climb 2% in December on Tight Supplies


Published Jan 10, 2013
[an error occurred while processing this directive]

Edit page New page Hide edit links

Platts

Prices in the $3-trillion-plus global petrochemicals market climbed 2% to $1,350 per metric ton (/mt) in December, according to the just-released monthly average of the Platts Global Petrochemical Index (PGPI), a benchmark basket of seven widely used petrochemicals. This follows a drop of 2% in November.

But on a year-over-year basis, petrochemical prices were up 16% from the December 2011 average price of $1,161/mt, according to data published by Platts, a leading global energy, petrochemicals and metals information provider and a top source of benchmark price references.

Petrochemicals are used to make plastic, rubber, nylon and other consumer products and are utilized in manufacturing, construction, pharmaceuticals, aviation, electronics and nearly every commercial industry.

“Benzene prices, which were up 7% from November, continued to push the global petrochemical index higher,” said Jim Foster, Platts senior editor of petrochemical analytics. “Benzene contracts hit record highs in recent months as demand continued to outpace supply. Global toluene prices also rose on the back of high benzene prices and continued strength in the xylene markets.”

The 7% increase in benzene, a petrochemical used in packaging, various plastics, nylon and other textiles, was the largest of the seven components that make up the PGPI. The December average price of benzene was $1,495/mt, up from a November average of $1,398/mt.

Toluene, which can be converted into benzene and xylenes, rose 4% to $1,332/mt in December, up from $1,274/mt in November. The global paraxylene index also was up 4% in December, to $1,565/mt, up from $1,511/mt in November.

Polymer prices too posted gains in December despite mixed results in the olefins markets. The Platts Global Polypropylene Index edged up 2% last month to $1,470/mt, despite a 2% decline in the Platts Global Propylene Index during the same period. Propylene is the olefin raw material input for the production of polypropylene.

Tags: Platts




Advertisment:

Add a Comment to this Article

Please be civil. Job and promotion will not be added into the comment page.

(Use Markdown for formatting.)

This question helps prevent spam:

+ Larger Font | + Smaller Font
Top Stories

 

 

 

 


 


RSS

RSS
Newsletter
Newsletter
Mobile News
Mobile news

Computer
Our news on
your website


Facebook
Facebook
Twitter
Twitter

Contact
Contact
Tips
Do you have any
tips to us
Stats

 

sitemap xml