Recovering Demand Helps Polycarbonate Prices to Climb Up in Germany
- 10-Mar-2023 2:25 PM
- Journalist: Henry Locke
Germany: After facing a decline, the price of Polycarbonate has rebound to an upward trend during the past two weeks in the European market due to the improvement in the downstream automotive industry. Polycarbonate material is highly utilised product in Automotive, construction, and other applications globally. It was observed that the demand for Polycarbonate in Germany was dropped in February, and the product got stocked up in the market.
A broader look at the German automotive sector shows that production activities are gradually improving. Production increased for the tenth month in a row in February, increasing 24% over the previous year.
Despite the recent positive trend, which is due to a gradually improving supply situation with preliminary and intermediate products, production remains significantly lower than pre-pandemic levels. Compared to the same time last year, 13% fewer vehicles were produced in the first two months of this year.
Manufacturers in the country are still dealing with rising energy prices and inflation, which is expected to reach 8.7% in February. The ifo Institute in Germany says that automotive manufacturers are currently less optimistic about their business.
In February, civil engineering activity increased for the first time in nearly a year, while housing activity slowed. Falling new work intakes continued to be a drag on total industry activity in February. New orders fell sharply once again, owing to rising construction costs, tightening financial conditions, and general apprehension among customers due to the uncertain economic outlook. Lower total industrial activity prompted German builders to reduce their purchasing levels further midway through the first quarter.
According to ChemAnalyst, the price of Polycarbonate on an FD Hamburg basis was around USD 4150/MT with a weekly inclination of 0.2% during the week ending March 3rd, 2023.
According to experts, the price of Polycarbonate is expected to rise due to improvements in the downstream automotive and civil sectors. It is assumed that the cost of Polycarbonate will likely rise by 1% to 1.5% in March 2023.
