Tags remain soft but will perk up later

By Staff -- Purchasing, 3/12/1998

Domestic chemical prices continue to weaken. In February, Purchasing's Industrial Chemical Price Index fell 3.0 points to 100.6. That's down from 106.0 in December. The reason for the decline is soft raw-material prices, increasing capacity, and slow demand. As the second quarter gets underway and domestic demand begins to pick up, look for some chemical tags to strengthen. The index is forecast to rise to 107.0 in August.

Among the falling prices in February, ethylene and propylene contracts dipped 1(cent)/lb to 24(cent)/lb and 16(cent)/lb, respectively. U.S. bulk contracts for caustic soda dropped an average of $8/ton to $207/ton while chlorine tags went down $9/ton to $224/ton. Acetone tags sank 3(cent)/lb to 20(cent)/lb. Methanol prices continued to soften, dropping 2(cent)/gal to 61(cent)/gal.

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