Chemical and resin prices are a bit confusing because there have been a series of price increases for several products that either fizzled in late spring or have been pushed into late summer. A factor may be that earlier perceptions of improved demand didn't pan out when second quarter sales volume numbers were crunched. This explains why PURCHASING's weighted index for chemicals' spot prices stuck around 120 in June; actually, it dropped to 120.1 from the revised 121.7 in May. Still, these latest Chemicals Price Index numbers are the highest since July 2001.

Resins prices are rising due to continued improvement in demand; in fact, some processors scrambled for supply in June. Buyers had been holding back orders while waiting for price breaks that didn't come. PURCHASING's weighted index for resins' spot prices rose to 114.8 in June from 113.2 in May. Market insiders report there are still pockets of discounted offers from brokers or distributors that overbought resins when prices were lower.

PURCHASING's monthly survey of chemical buyers finds tight butadiene supply continuing to boost prices 2¢/lb for a third consecutive month in June to a new spot average of 22¢. Spot prices for ethylene also continued to rise to 20¢ because of tightened supply.