The recent decrease in crude oil prices to the lowest levels since August 2016 is already affecting prices for aromatic petrochemicals such as benzene, as well as the plastics derived from them. Benzene, which sold at $2.91 per gallon at the beginning of April, sold for $2.41 last Friday on the U.S. Gulf Coast. Benzene’s downward price movement is impacting...

HDPE HMW regrind was sold last week at 24 to 25 cents per pound picked up U.S. Southeast and 32.5 to 35 cents per pound picked up at locations in New Jersey, indicating a two-tiered market split into geographical regions. The regrind in both regions is produced mainly from post-consumer and post-industrial scrap HMW drums and intermediate bulk containers (IBCs)...

Prices for curbside PET bottle bales with a PET ratio of 73 percent to 93 percent rose last week by 1.5 cents per pound to 15 to 17 cents per pound picked up in locations in Michigan, Ohio, Texas and the U.S. East Coast and Southeast. Those prices have increased steadily since early January, when they were 9.5 cents per...

U.S.-produced bottle-grade prime PET prices fell 2.5 cents per pound last week in response to a surplus of domestic resin and imported PET with an intrinsic viscosity of 78 milliliters per gram or higher. Domestic railcars were done at 52 cents per pound and 54 cents per pound delivered Chicago area. Imported PET from Asia sold at 52 and 53...

Plentiful supply of curbside HDPE bales in the Southeast and U.S. Gulf Coast area pushed prices lower in mid-May as suppliers sought to move their rising inventories. Natural (dairy) HDPE bales were sold at 26 to 28 cents per pound FOB U.S. Gulf last week, down 2 to 3 cents per pound from the previous week. Mixed-color bales edged lower...

Price for recycled acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) have been rebounding in May, supported by tighter supply. ABS black pellets were priced in the low-50s-cents-per-pound level, delivered U.S. Midwest last week, up from a range of 38 to 43 cents per pound in late April. The recent price direction is counter to the longer-term trajectory of lower prices for recycled ABS....

The gap between prime polypropylene and recycled material narrowed in April as prime prices fell and recycled held their own. Prime HoPP, for instance, dropped from 62.5 cents per pound to 54 cents per pound on the U.S. Gulf from April 3 to April 28, while recycled HoPP (black injection grade pellets FOB U.S. East Coast) held at 42 cents...

HDPE frac-melt mixed colors regrind from post-consumer and post-industrial scrap sold April 21 at 42 cents per pound picked up U.S. South, up 3 cents per pound from business done in early April. Other business occurred at 38 to 40 cents per pound delivered Mid-Atlantic locations. HDPE HMW regrind from drums and intermediate bulk containers was done at 24 to...

Bottle-grade prime PET prices fell 1.25 cents per pound last week to 56.25 cents per pound, delivered Chicago. Imported PET with an intrinsic viscosity (IV) of 78 milliliters per gram or higher commanded 56 cents per pound delivered duty-paid, down 1 to 2 cents per pound from the previous week. On the recycled side, PET prices appeared stable. Clear post-industrial...

Demand for HDPE scrap bales retreated a bit in early April following a mid-March surge. This lackluster demand, coupled with rising bale supply from  major population centers, drove scrap prices lower. HDPE natural (dairy) bales from curbside bottles were done late last week at 34 cents per pound picked up U.S. South, down 3 cents per pound from the previous week....