VITRY-SUR-SEINE, France—French rubber industry association the Syndicat National du Caoutchouc et des Polymères (SNCP) has recorded sustained increases in raw materials prices throughout the first quarter of 2022.
March prices for one grade of solid natural rubber tracked by SNCP increased by 4.1 percent on the levels of Jan. 1—and 41 percent higher than at the start of last year.
The tracked price of oil-extended EPDM was, meanwhile, up by 5.3 points over the three months to March 31, and 68 percent above its Jan 1, 2021, level.
Equivalent rises were also recorded for: SBR, 4.1 percent and 41 percent; nitrile rubber, 3.0 percent and 62 percent; and carbon black (>= N300), 10.6 percent and 53 percent.
Bucking the trend, polychloroprene rubber prices tracked 0.5 percent lower over the first three months of 2022, though were still 68 percent above levels seen at the start of last year, SNCP's data shows.
