Europe Q1 PC drops amid continuing poor demand

18 February 2009 23:59  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS news)--The European first-quarter contract prices for both extrusion and moulding grade polycarbonate (PC) have dropped by €0.26-0.36/kg ($0.33-0.46/kg), market players confirmed on Wednesday.

Values for moulding grade material were assessed at €2.60-2.80/kg earlier this month, down from €2.86-3.11/kg in the previous quarter.

Sources felt that the reduction was largely due to the softer raw material values seen in the market, as well as continued poor demand.

Although there were some pockets of stability in certain niche sectors such as medical supplies, the general market sentiment remained gloomy.

“We are currently seeing very weak demand and an oversupplied market,” said one buyer, adding that he did not see any quick recovery.

Extrusion grade material was assessed for the first quarter at €2.50-2.70/kg, a reduction of €0.31-0.36/kg from previous levels.

According to one source, as many customers in this sector are large, they were in a stronger negotiating position to push for bigger price decreases than their moulding grade counterparts.

($1 = €0.79)

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By: Julia Meehan
+44 20 8652 3214

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