ABS: Correlation
Prices it moves with, and why
ABS combines acrylonitrile, butadiene and styrene, so three monomer markets feed its cost. It is a tough engineering plastic used in appliances, car interiors, electronics casings and toys, and East Asia makes most of it.
Proxy US PPI: thermoplastic resins and plastics materials index (BLS base period) · monthly, Jan 2006 to Sep 2026There is no free public price for ABS itself, so this tab uses the closest public series as a stand-in. Read the numbers as an indication, not as the price of this exact item.
What its price moves with
Selected linkABS and Acrylonitrile
Monthly changes 0.32 weak correlation 12-month changes 0.69 moderate correlation Last 5 years 0.37 monthly changes Lead or lag none No clear lead or lag Price function, Jan 2006 to Sep 2026 ABS ≈ 3.88 × (Acrylonitrile)0.75 R² 0.77 On this fit, a 10% higher acrylonitrile price goes with a 7.4% higher ABS price over the long run. Units: index (BLS base period) and index (BLS base period).Chart: ABS and Acrylonitrile prices rebased to 100 at Jan 2006, log scale
Both prices rebased to 100 at Jan 2006, on a log scale so equal percentage moves look the same size.Chart: ABS price against Acrylonitrile price, monthly, log scales, with fitted line
Each dot is one month; paler dots are older (2006), darker dots recent (2026); the ringed dot is the latest month. The dashed line is the fitted price function. Both axes are logarithmic.Acrylonitrile gives ABS its heat and chemical resistance and is one of three monomer costs. The basic organics proxy moves with the resin proxy at 0.32 monthly and 0.69 yearly.
weak co-movement month to month · 249 months Show chartsButadiene forms the rubbery phase that makes ABS tough, and its volatile price swings ABS margins. The petrochemical proxy moves with the resin proxy at 0.71 monthly and 0.89 yearly, which mostly reflects the broad resin index.
strong co-movement month to month · 249 months Show chartsStyrene is the largest monomer by weight in most ABS grades. The cyclic intermediates proxy moves with the resin proxy at 0.38 monthly and 0.73 yearly. Its price swings with Chinese styrene capacity, which has grown fast.
weak co-movement month to month · 249 months Show chartsCar interiors and trim are a major ABS outlet. The vehicle price proxy does not move with the resin proxy, -0.02 monthly, because car prices follow model cycles and competition rather than plastic costs.
little or none co-movement month to month · 249 months Show chartsAll three monomers come from oil or gas liquids, so crude sets the cost floor. Brent moves with the resin proxy at 0.24 monthly and 0.72 yearly. ABS margins also swing with appliance demand.
weak co-movement month to month · 249 months Show chartsHow to read these numbers
Correlation of monthly changes (the number in the coloured pill) compares how much each price moved, month by month, since 2006 or the first month both series exist. It runs from −1 to +1: near +1 the two usually rise and fall in the same months, near 0 there is no link, and a negative number means they tend to move in opposite directions. Above 0.7 is strong, 0.4 to 0.7 moderate, 0.2 to 0.4 weak.
12-month changes compare year-on-year moves, which shows whether two prices share the same cycles even when the month-to-month noise differs.
Price function is a straight-line fit of the two prices on logarithmic scales: price ≈ k × (partner price)β. β is how much this price moves, in per cent, for a 1% move in the partner over the whole period, and R² is the share of the variation the fit explains. Two prices that both drift up with inflation can fit well without any real link, so read it together with the monthly correlation.
Lead or lag checks whether the monthly correlation is clearly higher when one price is shifted by 1 to 6 months.
Correlation is not cause. The reasons on each card explain the economic link; the numbers show how strongly it has shown up in prices. Proxy series are US producer price indexes or related prices and can blur the real link.
Data: World Bank Commodity Price Data (Pink Sheet), October 2026; US Bureau of Labor Statistics producer price indexes, IMF primary commodity prices and US EIA prices via FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, retrieved November 2026. Calculations by this site.