Argentina’s polymer and synthetic rubber output in January rose 2.3% year on year, state statistics office Indec said.
Production of these petrochemicals was up 5.9% month on month, Indec also said in a monthly industrial output report that did not give raw data or reasons for the changes.
The results come even as declining domestic production of oil and natural gas has reduced feedstock supplies for petrochemical producers.
Indec said chemical production fell 2.8% in January year on year, and was down 4.2% compared with December.
Output of urea and other chemicals for fertilizers fell 6% year on year, and was down 15% month on month.
Production of plastic goods by compounders, an indicator of demand for polymers, fell 4.3% in January year on year and was down 3.5% month on month.
Output of tires, a sign of demand for synthetic rubber and its polymer feedstock, fell 33.3% year on year and was down 24.4% compared with December.
Leading petrochemical producers in the country include state-run YPF and units of Dow Chemical, LyondellBasell and Petrobras.
They used an average of 71.6% of installed capacity in January, the same as in the year-earlier period and down from 72.6% in December.
– Platts.com
