In the late 2014 the price of bottle grade PC was USD2,600/tonne FOB Vostochny, excluding VAT. In January, it dropped to USD2,350/tonne.
The main reason is the tendency of a decrease in PC price in the Asian market because of the feedstock price drop.
Last year price for Bisphenol A decreased by 24% (from USD1,610/tonne to USD1,235/tonne). Price for phenol dropped by 63% (from USD1,420/tonne to USD870/tonne). Price for acetone fell by 86% (from USD1,225/tonne to USD658/tonne). At the same time, the price for the polymer in Asia decreased only to the level that took place a year ago. In Asian ports PC shipped at USD2,500/tonne. However, now there is talks of further price cuts.
Despite this, the domestic price for Asian PC for Russian consumers has been increasing because of the devaluation of the rouble. So, at the beginning of last year the price for Asian PC was at Rb110,000/tonne. In January 2015 price offers for Asian PC were heard in the range of Rb200,000-210,000/tonne, depending on the current exchange rate.
The segment of the market continues to decline. A trader said almost half of his clients suspended operations. The market of finished products was not ready to accept such prices, which are dictated by the feedstock prices. Therefore, some converters have been switching to recycled PC. Consumers increased the service life of bottles.
MRC