- Benzene prices, ammonia prices and phenol prices are
declining- Caprolactam remains weak due to low nylon demand



As some producers consider lower feedstock
prices, price discussions have slowed down. Some traders were trading
at $1.670/mt while others were at higher prices at $1.810/mt. CFR Far East Asia Caprolactam (and CFR Southeast Asia
Caprolactam) declined $20/mt in the previous week, to $1670/mt. Both benzene, and ammonia have seen a price correction
downwards in the upstream market over the last week. Two sources reported that FOB Korea, benzene prices had
fallen below the $990-1000/mt level and ammonia was generally weak at below
$500-520/mt. Caprolactam feedstock prices
were also described as weaker, due to the weak phenol. Participants pointed out, however, that lower feedstock
prices did not translate into an improvement in fundamentals as the demand for
nylon...