Why caprolactam Is leading the move
According to TexPro, Fibre*Fashion, Caprolactam posted its third consecutive weekly gain in the week to July **, climbing *.* per cent to close at $*.*** per kg building on the prior week**;s stronger *.* per cent jump to $*.*** and confirming the market has shifted decisively out of its spring downtrend. The move caps a steady recovery that began at the June low: prices opened the review window at $*.*** per kg on April *, then slid through $*.*** (May **), $*.** (May **), and $*.*** (June *), with a brief bounce to $*.*** (June **) before resuming the decline to $*.*** (June **) and a floor of $*.*** on June ** an ** per cent drop from the April peak, the steepest correction anywhere in the chain. Since then, the rebound has built momentum week after week: $*.*** (July *), $*.*** (July **), and now $*.*** (July **).
Caprolactam runs on benzene-based feedstock economics, and benzene has firmed on tighter refinery-grade aromatics supply and seasonal Asian cracker turnarounds. Renewed US-Iran tensions have added fresh crude and naphtha volatility, lifting benzene**;s underlying cost base further. With several caprolactam lines already running at reduced rates, producers have had more room and justification to pass costs through rather than absorb them. Caprolactam isn**;t just following the market higher, it**;s leading it, setting the tone downstream.
Why Nylon * chips followed so closely
