Global IPEX up 1.5% in January on price rises in NE Asia and the US Gulf

LONDON (ICIS)–The ICIS Petrochemical Index (IPEX) rose by 1.5% month on month in January, as chemical prices went up in the US Gulf and, especially, northeast Asia.

The northwest Europe index posted the only decrease compared with December, down by 0.2%. The decline was driven by lower butadiene, ethylene and propylene monthly contract prices.

The northeast Asia IPEX was 7.1% higher month on month, with butadiene,  polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and benzene in particular pushing the index up. Ethylene and propylene were the only commodities in the region to see a price fall.

Monthly chemical values in the US Gulf went up by 1.4% on the back of strong propylene and polypropylene (PP) increases.

Among commodities included in the global IPEX, paraxylene (PX) contract prices in northwest Europe and the US Gulf are the only ones yet to settle.

The Global IPEX index for January is down by 12.1% 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.