Beld: Plastic resin prices have increased by 30% this year and are expected to rise further.

Investing.com – According to a report from Baird, plastic resin prices continued their upward momentum in March, with polyethylene and polypropylene prices up by $0.10 per pound compared with February.

In March, the average price of polyethylene reached $0.67 per pound, up $0.15 per pound year-to-date, for a gain of about 29%. By grade, high-density polyethylene was priced at $0.66 per pound, low-density polyethylene at $0.72 per pound, and linear low-density polyethylene at $0.64 per pound.

Polypropylene prices climbed to $0.62 per pound, with a year-to-date increase of 34%. Base monomer propylene prices also rose $0.10 per pound month over month.

Tensions in the Middle East pushed up global feedstock costs outside the United States and, in practice, prompted the Middle East to exit the polyethylene export market. The region had previously been one of the two largest net export regions globally, alongside the United States.

Major producers have announced further price increases on a contract basis over the next few months. The polyethylene increases scheduled for April and May are each expected to be about $0.20 per pound. ICIS expects polypropylene in April to rise by $0.16 per pound.

Baird said that near- and medium-term dynamics may continue to keep inflationary momentum in place, and that producers have the ability to keep pushing prices higher. The company expects that the current inflation cycle will create pressure points in the second and third quarters, with margin recovery expected in the second half of 2026.

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