Corrected: May IPEX down 2.1% on lower chemical prices in northeast Asia, Europe

LONDON (ICIS)–The ICIS Petrochemical Index (IPEX) fell by 2.1% in May month on month as higher petrochemicals and plastics prices in the US Gulf were not enough to offset steeper declines in northeast Asia and northwest Europe pricing.

Northwest Europe posted the largest drop in prices as war-related macroeconomic woes drove pricing down for many commodities, such as propylene, ethylene and PVC.

Pricing also fell in northeast Asia in May, by 2.8%. In this region, ethylene, methanol and propylene were the main products pushing down the regional IPEX.

US Gulf chemical values rose by 1.3% because of sharp increases in toluene and ethylene prices.

The Global IPEX index rose by 8.4% year on year.

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.