Production of caustic soda in Russia down 1% in January-July 2019

MOSCOW (MRC) - Spot prices of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) from Russian producers remained last week at the level of the previous week's offers, according to the ICIS-MRC Price Report.

So, the producer SIBUR offered material in the spot market at the level of Rb86,500-88,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT. One mid-size buyer reported a price of Rb87,000/tonne FCA Tver, including VAT.

At the same time, Russian producers of PET Senege and Ecopet kept spot prices higher.

Because of a long-term downtrend, some converters took a wait-and-see position, reduced orders for the purchase of PET-chips and reduced stocks of raw materials.
MRC

MOSOCW (MRC) - Negotiations on European polyvinyl chloride (PVC) prices for September delivery to the CIS markets have begun this week. Raw materials in Europe fell in price, and many local producers reduced PVC export prices proportionally, according to the ICIS-MRC Price Report.

The September contract price of ethylene was agreed down by EUR40/tonne from August, which theoretically should lead to a decrease of EUR20/tonne in PVC production costs. Because of a significant reduction in the cost of the main raw material - ethylene, many European producers intend to cut their export prices for PVC for supplies to the markets of the CIS countries in September, but there are producers who do not plan to adjust their export prices.

The demand for PVC from a number of consumers in the CIS countries is not high in September, many consumers reduce their purchases because they expect further price drop in the coming months. But due to technical problems, some plants have temporary restrictions in export supplies.

Several producers were considering reducing export prices by EUR20-30/tonne compared to August. One of the producers does not plan any price cuts this year.

But in general, deals for September shipments of suspension PVC (SPVC) to the CIS markets were held in the range of EUR710-765/tonne FCA.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Trinseo, a global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex binders and synthetic rubber, and its affiliate companies in Europe has announced a price increase for all polystyrene (PS) grades in Europe, as per the company's press release.

Effective September 1, 2019, or as existing contract terms allow, the contract and spot prices for the products listed below increased as follows:

- STYRON general purpose polystyrene grades (GPPS) - by EUR100 per metric ton;
- STYRON and STYRON A-Tech high impact polystyrene grades (HIPS) - by EUR100 per metric ton.

As MRC informed before, Trinseo last raised its prices for all PS grades on 1 Jue 2018, as stated below:

- STYRON GPPS grades - by EUR50 per metric ton;
- STYRON and STYRON A-Tech HIPS grades - by EUR50 per metric ton.

According to ICIS-MRC Price report, market participants said Nizhnekamskneftekhim would raise its selling HIPS and GPPS prices by Rb2,000/tonne in September.

Trinseo is a global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex and rubber. Trinseo's technology is used by customers in industries such as home appliances, automotive, building & construction, carpet, consumer electronics, consumer goods, electrical & lighting, medical, packaging, paper & paperboard, rubber goods and tires. Formerly known as Styron, Trinseo completed its renaming process in 1Q 2015. Trinseo had approximately USD4.6 billion in net sales in 2018, with 16 manufacturing sites around the world, and approximately 2,500 employees.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Chemical Activity Barometer (CAB), a leading economic indicator created by the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.), fell 0.1 percent in August on a three-month moving average (3MMA) basis, following a similar drop in July and four months of gains, according to ChemicalEngineering.

On a year-over-year (Y/Y) basis, the barometer was flat at 0.0 percent (3MMA).

The unadjusted measure of the CAB fell 0.5 percent in August after a 0.1 percent gain in July. The diffusion index was 59 percent in August. The diffusion index marks the number of positive contributors relative to the total number of indicators monitored. The CAB reading for July was revised upward by 0.58 points and that for June by 0.62 points.

"A pattern of fluctuating CAB readings - months up followed by months down - indicates late-cycle activity," said Kevin Swift, chief economist at ACC. "The barometer signals gains in US commerce into early 2020, but at a slow pace, while rising volatility suggests change may be coming."

The CAB has four main components, each consisting of a variety of indicators: 1) production; 2) equity prices; 3) product prices; and 4) inventories and other indicators.

Production-related indicators in August were slightly positive. Trends in construction-related resins, pigments and related performance chemistry were slightly positive and suggest slow gains in housing activity. Plastic resins used in packaging and for consumer and institutional applications were also slightly positive. Performance chemistry was soft and US exports were mixed. Equity prices dropped this month, as did product and input prices. Inventory and other indicators were positive.

The CAB is a leading economic indicator derived from a composite index of chemical industry activity. The chemical industry has been found to consistently lead the US economy’s business cycle, given its early position in the supply chain, and this barometer can be used to determine turning points and likely trends in the wider economy. Month-to-month movements can be volatile, so a three-month moving average of the barometer is provided. This provides a more consistent and illustrative picture of national economic trends.

Applying the CAB back to 1912, it has been shown to provide a lead of two to fourteen months, with an average lead of eight months at cycle peaks as determined by the National Bureau of Economic Research. The median lead was also eight months. At business cycle troughs, the CAB leads by one to seven months, with an average lead of four months. The median lead was three months. The CAB is rebased to the average lead (in months) of an average 100 in the base year (the year 2012 was used) of a reference time series. The latter is the Federal Reserve’s Industrial Production Index.
MRC