PP faces double-digit price hike

The North American polypropylene market has been hammered with another double-digit price increase, this time sending prices up an average of 15 cents per pound since April 1.

PP prices are now at their highest-ever levels – numerous buyers have said – and are having a negative impact throughout the market.

Factoring in a 17-cent hike that hit the regional PP market in January — and a 5-cent price dip in March — North American PP prices now are up a net of 27 cents since Jan. 1. That’s an increase of more than 25 percent, based on the Plastics News resin pricing chart.

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via Plastics News – PP faces double-digit price hike.

U.S. Dollar Index Falls to Lowest Since 2008

The Dollar Index fell to its lowest level since 2008 as the Federal Reserve’s pledge to keep interest rates near zero to stimulate growth spurred investors to buy higher-yielding assets.

April 28 (Bloomberg) — The Dollar Index, which tracks the dollar against the currencies of six major U.S. trading partners, dropped to 73.013 as of 8:50 a.m. in London from 73.519 in New York yesterday, after touching 72.871, the least since July 2008. The dollar declined to $1.4851 per euro from $1.4788 after sliding to $1.4882, the weakest since Dec. 7, 2009.

The Australian dollar climbed to a record against its U.S. counterpart amid speculation the South Pacific nation will raise rates to contain inflation. The U.S. currency depreciated versus 13 of its 16 most-actively traded peers and fell to its weakest level against the euro in more than 16 months. The yen appreciated versus most other major currencies after a report showed Japanese investors sold foreign assets last week.

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via Dollar Index Falls to Lowest Since 2008 on Fed; Aussie Advances – Bloomberg.com.

Steel price increases checked in most parts of the world

US strip mill product transaction values are relatively stable with just some minor upward movement. This follows several months of escalation, much of which was driven by the mills’ climbing raw material costs. Recently, however, producers have made no more formal announcements regarding further increases, at least for the immediate future. Inventories at service centres and end-users remain on the low side because buyers are cautious about ordering too much material at what is likely to be the top of the market.

Transaction hikes proposed for May shipments are being implemented by Canadian steelmakers as demand is high and input costs continue to grow. Order intake at the mills remains good but a number of buyers are now purchasing more carefully in anticipation of stable or weakening prices in the next few months.

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via Steel Industry News from MEPS International Ltd.

Sugar Output in Thailand to Reach Record, Boosting Exports

Raw sugar for July delivery dropped 0.7 percent to 23.24 cents a pound on ICE Futures U.S. in New York yesterday. The most-active contract climbed to 36.08 cents a pound on Feb. 2, the highest level since 1980.

Sugar output in Thailand, the biggest exporter after Brazil, will exceed a forecast to reach a record after rainfall increased yields, boosting shipments to an all-time high, according to the Office of the Cane & Sugar Board.

Increased supplies from Thailand may pressure global prices that tumbled 36 percent since reaching a three-decade high in February as output climbs in Brazil and India, the world’s biggest producers. Sugar is the worst performer on the Standard & Poor’s GSCI Spot Index of 24 commodities this year, helping cool global food prices that the United Nations estimates fell in March from a record.

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via Sugar Output in Thailand to Reach Record, Boosting Exports – Bloomberg.com.

Food Costs May Top Record as Global Inflation Accelerates

Global food prices may rise 4.4 percent to a record by the end of the year, driven by demand for meat, oilseeds and grains used to make ethanol, adding to costs that mean inflation is accelerating from the U.S. to China.

The United Nations’ Food Price Index may climb to 240 points from 229.84 last month, said William Adams, a fund manager at Zurich-based Resilience AG, which has $22.2 million of assets. Global corn stockpiles are shrinking the most in seven years, inventories of nine edible oils will drop to the lowest since 1974 and U.S. beef stocks will be the smallest since 1999, the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates.

“The stockpiles are being severely depleted,” said Adams, who correctly forecast gains in heating oil and gasoline prices last year. “Eventually it gets to the consumer. The U.S. government isn’t subsidizing pork chops like it is ethanol.”

via Food Costs May Top Record as Global Inflation Accelerates – Bloomberg.com.

Commodities Snap 4-Day Advance on Fed Speculation

Commodities snapped a four-day winning streak, led by declines in silver and copper, on speculation the Federal Reserve may end its bond-buying program and as China was said to be tightening its credit policy.

Copper for three-month delivery dropped as much as 3.3 percent, the most since March 9. Futures caught up with losses in New York and Shanghai after the London exchange resumed trading today after a two-day holiday. Zinc fell as much as 4.7 percent to $2,249 a ton, also the most since March 9.

The Standard & Poor’s GSCI Index of 24 raw materials lost as much as 0.9 percent to 745.49, the biggest intraday loss since April 19. The index was 0.2 percent lower at 751.12 at 12:47 p.m. London time. Silver fell as much as 5.4 percent and copper slumped 2.5 percent.

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via Commodities Snap 4-Day Advance on Fed Speculation, China Credit – Bloomberg.com.

US ethylene margins fall nearly 4% on weaker spot prices

US ethylene spot prices fell sharply during the week ended 15 April, dropping by 10% to 58.50 cents/lb in one day on pressure from lower ethane and crude oil prices early in the week.

US ethylene margins fell by nearly 4% in the second week of April following a drop in ethylene spot prices, the ICIS margin report showed on Monday.

Ethylene spot margins were at 32.54 cents/lb ($717/tonne, €495/tonne) last week, down from 33.81 cents/lb in the previous week, using ethane as a feedstock.

Crude oil prices fell after a large US investment bank warned its clients that prices had climbed far above the values supported by market fundamentals.

The comment spooked investors, causing the front-month West Texas Intermediate (WTI) contract to shed 6% in only two days.

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via Textile News – USA : US ethylene margins fall nearly 4% on weaker spot prices.

EU steel price hikes have run out of steam

MEPS believes steel transaction values will decline in the remainder of the second trimester, despite higher mill input costs. Buyers are already anticipating discounts when third quarter negotiations get underway.

Steel price rises have stalled in the European market. Increased selling values sought by the domestic producers have not been implemented and figures have, in fact, slipped.

Order intake at the mills is slow. Many companies have adequate inventories and are only ordering to meet their immediate requirements. Moreover, they are restricting purchase volumes due to growing uncertainty regarding the future steel price trend.

Imports, which were ordered in the first quarter, are now arriving into European destinations in large quantities. This situation has contributed to the downward pressure on domestic selling figures.

via Steel Price News, Steel news, EU steel prices, Steel Industry news, Free steel news, Steel news, Steel news alerts.

Palm Oil Seen Advancing 23%

At a time when consumers are focused on food costs that are within about 3 percent of a record, stockpiles of edible oils needed to make everything from noodles to fish sticks are dropping to a 3-decade low.

The combined stocks of nine oils will plunge 25 percent to 9.39 million metric tons this year, or about 23 days of demand, the fewest since 1974, the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates. Palm oil prices will climb as much as 23 percent to 4,000 ringgit ($1,324) a ton by Dec. 31, based on the median in a Bloomberg survey of 11 analysts and traders.

As the global population expanded 85 percent in the past four decades, demand for edible oils rose almost ninefold. While that’s raising costs for Unilever, the second-largest consumer goods company, it will also help Sime Darby Bhd., the biggest publicly traded palm-oil producer, report a fourfold gain in earnings this year, analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg show. The forecast price rally, which may quicken should flooding return to plantations, will stoke inflation that caused central banks from Brazil to China to raise interest rates.

via Palm Oil Seen Advancing 23%, Sime Darby Quadrupling Profit (2) – Bloomberg.com.

April propylene prices expected to set record – Platts

Propylene is expected to reach an all-time high in North America later this month, as rising feedstock prices exert upward pressure on prices.

US polymer-grade propylene contracts for April were beginning to settle at an all-time high, up more than 20 percent at 87.50 cents/lb, market sources reported Friday.

The new CP represented a 15-cent/lb increase over March values, which were at 72.50 cents/lb for polymer-grade propylene and 71 cents for chemical grade.

Chemical-grade was settling at 86 cents/lb, also a record high, according to Platts data.

via April propylene CP begins to settle up 15 cts at 87.50 cts/lb – Petrochemicals | Platts News Article & Story.