May IPEX up by nearly 4% month on month on rising Europe and US prices

LONDON (ICIS)–The ICIS Petrochemical Index (IPEX) went up slightly in May, rising by 3.6% month on month, tracking price increases seen across most of the major petrochemical and plastics commodities in Europe and the US.

The tables show the movement in global and regional IPEX values as petrochemicals and plastics demand generally improved in Europe and America, and markets tightened on the back of the lingering production disruptions caused by the severe storm in February in the US.

Northwest Europe prices posted the steepest increase because of sharp rises in commodities such as benzene, toluene and polystyrene.

All the petrochemicals and plastics prices used to calculate the index in Europe went up in May. The only exception was methanol, which remained unchanged.

The US Gulf index posted the second largest jump, with benzene, propylene and polystyrene leading the rise. Ethylene and paraxylene were the only petrochemicals falling in this region.

The northeast Asian index showed the smallest rises, extending gains by 0.5% in May. Polyethylene, polypropylene, PVC and ethylene posted drops in pricing month on month.

The Global IPEX index doubled year on year.

The monthly IPEX indices provide a snapshot of the petrochemicals and plastics markets in the three major producing and consuming regions, as well as globally.

The IPEX table and charts below are ‘live’ and update on a regular basis. The latest price increases are shown, along with values for the regional and global IPEX indices.

Price changes for the commodities used to create the IPEX can be captured by users on the price table, allowing comparisons to be made on a flexible monthly basis.

Likewise, IPEX values can be captured by clicking into the chart area and downloading current and historical data using the ‘download’ button and selecting an option.

The ICIS petrochemical index tracks the movement of prices for the 12 major petrochemicals and polymers: ethylene, propylene, butadiene, benzene, toluene, paraxylene (PX), polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), styrene, polystyrene (PS), methanol and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) with the regional indexes weighted by capacity. The IPEX values are related to a January 2000 base of 100. IPEX values are subject to change retrospectively as monthly contract prices are settled.