ICIS: The global petrochemical index rose month-on-month in February

Recently, ICIS London announced that in February, the ICIS Petrochemical Index (IPEX) rose by 5.4% from the previous month, mainly due to rising chemical prices in various regions. ICIS said that in February, the main reason for the increase in global chemical prices was the increase in the cost of raw materials. In Northwest Europe, chemical price increases were more limited than in other regions due to weak energy costs and softer demand from key downstream industries.

In February, the IPEX index in the Northeast Asian market increased by 6.1% compared with January, the largest increase, in which the sharp rise in the prices of butadiene, ethylene and propylene offset the slight decline in the price of benzene. The US Gulf IPEX index rose 4.2% in February, driven by higher prices for propylene, benzene and polypropylene. In the region, only toluene and ethylene prices have declined, while paraxylene prices have yet to be finalized. In Northwest Europe, the IPEX index rose 3.3% as firmer prices for toluene, benzene, propylene and ethylene offset lower polyethylene and polypropylene prices. In February, the global IPEX index fell by 14.2% year-on-year.

The ICIS Petrochemical Index tracks the price movements of 12 major petrochemical products and polymers: ethylene, propylene, butadiene, benzene, toluene, paraxylene, polyethylene, polypropylene, styrene, polystyrene, methanol and polychloride Ethylene, regional index weighted by capacity.