Platts Global Price Index : Global Petrochemical Prices fell 1% in March on softer crude oil prices

1. © 2013 Platts, McGraw Hill Financial. All rights reserved.
Global Petrochemical Prices Fell 1% in March
Platts Global Petrochemical Index
May, 07,2014
Additional media contact: Elizabeth Catalano at elizabeth.catalano@platts.com or +44 207 176 6024.

2. Prices Fell 1% in March on softer crude oil
prices
• Prices in the $3-trillion-plus global petrochemicals market fell 1% in
March versus February to $1,371 per metric ton (/mt), according to
the monthly Platts Global Petrochemical Index (PGPI) announced on
the side-lines of the international petrochemical conference of the
American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) in San
Antonio, Texas.
• The PGPI is a benchmark basket of seven widely used
petrochemicals and is published by Platts, a leading global energy,
petrochemicals and metals information provider and a top source
of benchmark price references.
• Price losses in the global petrochemical markets reflected price
declines in world crude oil markets.
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3. • Price losses in the global petrochemical markets reflected price
declines in world crude oil markets.
• Also tugging on prices was naphtha-- a primary raw input for
petrochemicals and one which tends to establish the value of
olefins, polymers and other products.
• Expressed as a monthly average, naphtha prices fell just less than
$1/mt last month.
• Petrochemicals are used in the manufacturing of plastic, rubber,
nylon and other consumer products and are utilized in
manufacturing, construction, pharmaceuticals, aviation, electronics
and nearly every commercial industry.
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4. Platts Petrochemicals Analytics:
Shale Gas to Polyethylene
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5. Platts Global Petrochemical Index (PGPI)
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6. Olefin prices
• Prices of olefins- a group of hydrocarbon compounds which are the
building blocks to many petrochemicals- were mostly flat in March on the
back of the little changed naphtha prices.
• Global ethylene prices globally fell less than 1% to $1,287/mt in March,
down just $4/mt from the average February price of $1,291/mt.
• Polyethylene, a polymer produced from ethylene, fell 2% to $1,622/mt in
March, down from $1,655/mt in February.
• Global propylene prices averaged $1,406/mt in March, up $1 from the
February average of $1,405/mt.
• Polypropylene, the polymer produced from propylene, slipped less than
half a percent to $1,622/mt, following a February average of $1,629/mt.
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7. Click below to download the PDF
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8. Platts Global Petrochemical Index (PGPI)
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• The chart above shows the daily end-of-day Platts Global Petrochemical Index
(PGPI) price in red and also displays the 20-day PGPI moving average (MA) in blue

9. Aromatic Prices
• Prices of aromatics- a group of scented hydrocarbons with benzene rings used to
make a variety of petrochemicals- were lower in March.
• Paraxylene posted the largest decline, falling 5% to $1,173/mt, down from the
February average of $1,232/mt.
• Benzene prices fell 3% to $1,353/mt, down from $1,392/mt in February. Toluene
also was down 3% to $1,073/mt, down from $1,104/mt in February.
• Petrochemical prices in March took little direction from global equity markets.
• The London Stock Exchange Index (FTSE) fell 3% in March, while the Down Jones
Industrial Average (DJIA) climbed 1% during the same period.
• The Nikkei 225 was relatively unchanged throughout the month, falling less 0.10%.
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10. Stay connected to the markets
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11. About PGPI
• To access a summary of the March performance of each of the seven key
petrochemicals included in the PGPI, visit: http://www.platts.com/news-
feature/2014/petrochemicals/pgpi/index.
• The PGPI reflects a compilation of the daily price assessments of physical spot
market ethylene, propylene, benzene, toluene, paraxylene, low-density
polyethylene (LDPE) and polypropylene as published by Platts and is weighted by
the three regions of Asia, Europe and the United States.
• Used as a price reference, a gauge of sector activity, and a measure of comparison
for determining the profitability of selling a barrel of crude oil intact or refining it
into products, the PGPI was first published by Platts in August 2007.
• Published daily in a real-time news service Platts Petrochemical Alert and other
Platts publications, the PGPI is anchored by Platts’ robust and long-
established price assessment methodology and the firm’s 100-year history
of energy price reporting.
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12. About Platts
• About Platts: Founded in 1909, Platts is a leading global provider of energy, petrochemicals, metals
and agriculture information and a premier source of benchmark prices for the physical and futures
markets. Platts' news, pricing, analytics, commentary and conferences help customers make
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the biofuels, carbon emissions, coal, electricity, oil, natural gas, metals, nuclear
power, petrochemical, shipping and sugar markets. A division of McGraw Hill Financial (NYSE:
MHFI), Platts is headquartered in New York with approximately 900 employees in more than 15
offices worldwide. Additional information is available at http://www.platts.com.
• About McGraw Hill Financial: McGraw Hill Financial (NYSE: MHFI), a financial intelligence company,
is a leader in credit ratings, benchmarks and analytics for the global capital and commodity
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Indices, Platts, CRISIL, J.D. Power and McGraw Hill Construction. The Company has approximately
17,000 employees in 29 countries. Additional information is available at www.mhfi.com.
• Platts petrochemicals experts are available for media interviews. A sample list of experts may be
found at the Platts Media Center. For more information on petrochemicals, visit the Platts website
at www.platts.com. Additional media contact: Elizabeth Catalano at elizabeth.catalano@platts.com
or +44 207 176 6024.
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13. © 2014 Platts, McGraw Hill Financial. All rights reserved.
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