West European buyers of standard thermoplastics benefit from falling feedstock costs

17-Nov-09

Earlier this month, buyers of standard thermoplastics in Western Europe benefited from falling prices of feedstock ethylene, propylene and styrene as per Plastics Information Europe. This has led to reductions in price of thermoplastics equal to the monomer reduction, and in some cases more. Thanks partly to imports, supply is balanced to good, and there are no signs of tightness. Demand continues weak, and it seems the current low level may soon be regarded as the new normal. In any case, says PIE, the market is unlikely to regain its former strength any time soon.