Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene prices have been going strong in the European region, and prices are likely to go off the charts in the coming weeks. Trinseo, a key manufacturer of plastics in Europe, has revised its earlier price announcement during the first week of April.

Earlier, Trinseo announced that prices of all grades of Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene would be increased by Euro 200 per MT (USD 220 per MT). However, the company has revised its earlier price announcement, and now prices of all grades of ABS will be increased by Euro 430 per MT (USD 470 per MT). As per Trinseo, the recent increase in feedstock prices, specifically Butadiene and Acrylonitrile, have observed a significant spike in the ABS price during the last few weeks, prompting manufacturers to amend prices.

After the revision of the price increase of ABS, it has been expected that the prices of ABS will now be at a multi-year high in Europe. As of the week ending 8th April, ABS prices in Germany were assessed at USD 3510 – 3560 per MT on FOB basis. Europe has already been mired in the tight grip of inflation, and these price increases will further inflate the prices in key European markets.

Several critical plastics, including Polyethylene (PE), Poly Vinyl Chloride (PVC), and Polypropylene (PP), have been at an all-time high in the latest announcement by ChemAnalyst.

Additionally, INEOS Styrolution, a global leader in ABS, has announced that the company has successfully started the operations of ABS capacity in France. The ABS plant is in Wingles, France and has a production capacity of 50 KTPA and will be a converted plant from an earlier Polystyrene production site. INEOS Styrolution has stated that the growing demand for ABS in the Construction, Compounding, Household, and Automotive industry has prompted the conversion from Polystyrene to ABS. Now, with the inclusion of this plant, INEOS Styrolution has three ABS units in Europe. The other two sites are in Antwerp, Belgium, and Cologne, Germany.

As per ChemAnalyst, “After the price announcement by Trinseo, Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene are expected to increase consistently throughout April and are likely to remain firm in May as well. Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) prices in Europe have been on the stronger side, and producers have been facing robust inflationary pressure culminating in a significant price spike.”