LONDON -- Prices in the $3-trillion-plus global petrochemicals market fell sharply in May, averaging $1,279 per metric ton (/mt). The May average price is down $165, or 11%, from the April average, according to the just-released monthly average of the Platts Global Petrochemical Index (PGPI), a benchmark basket of seven widely used petrochemicals.
The 11% price drop is the largest one-month percentage decline in global petrochemical values since November 2008, when prices fell 38% following the start of the global recession in mid-2008. The May average monthly price was down 16% versus this same period a year ago.
On a market-on-close, last-day-of-May basis, the PGPI had fallen to $1,158/mt, on par with the lowest levels seen in 2011. The end-of-May value is down 18% from the April 30 level.
