Notations remain comparatively weak / Hopes for slide at the beginning of the new year quashed / Many quarterly agreements still being negotiated / Ongoing downtrend

Although the European market for engineering thermoplastics remained weak in January, prices were still at a reasonably high level. Since many long-term deals for the more common materials, including PC and the polyamides, are still being negotiated, the monthly agreements are lacking the direction provided by these quarterly contracts. As a result, price corrections ended up being comparatively small. Whereas POM remained stable, the long period of calm for PBT ended and notations began to slide. PMMA also continued to erode. The commodity-related ABS and PP compounds followed the slide in the petrochemical upstream.

As the month wore on, many customers became increasingly reluctant to buy some of the grades covered in this report. The decline in oil notations appears to have given them reason to hope for further price cuts. Notations are expected to respond to this trend in February. If the concessions are deemed good enough, there could be brief bursts of business - not least since some converters might then start replenishing their stocks. In other cases, the fact that quarterly agreements have yet to be fixed will also set the pace. In the case of POM, the pressure exerted by imports is rising.

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