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CHINA

·       Indian cargoes continues to present at below $1000/ton mark

·       Transactions for PE are healthy

Polypropylene (PP)

After the transaction for more than 20,000 tons of homo-PP done in the previous trading day, suppliers maintain offers for Indian origin cargoes at $980/ton for more than 1000 tons quantity and $1000/ton for less than the 1000 tons quantity, all based on CFR China term.

“This indicates that the producer is still having cargoes on hand. That gives us an competitive edge in negotiating further,” a buyer said while adding that prices are pretty low at the moment and he might focus on discussing the payment term.

Polyethylene (PE)

Chinese buyers are active in procuring new PE cargoes by the end of the week, however prices are quite soft. Several producers in Middle East and Asia reported satisfactory sales results after adjusting prices lower.

A trader purchased Middle Eastern HDPE film and LLDPE film at $1000/ton CFR China term explained, “This price level is more competitive than local cargoes. We purchased to meet the demand after Lunar New Year period.”

SOUTHEAST ASIA

·       Players watch out for trade talks between China and the USA

·       Import PP, PE market continues facing pressure

Polypropylene (PP)

Following the deals for Indian homo-PP cargoes at $1060/ton in Vietnam, regional buyers are expecting similar price levels or even lower from other suppliers. “We place bid for homo-PP injection cargoes at below the $1150/ton mark and currently waiting for the supplier to revert. Many other buyers have replenished this time while waiting for further reduction to make new purchases,” a household product buyer informed.

Meanwhile, Indonesian buyers are patiently waiting for import prices to breach below the $1100/ton threshold now that both China and Vietnam market have shared the trend. At the time this report is published, no suppliers have agreed to such low price in this market.    

Polyethylene (PE)

A Saudi Arabia producer conceded to $40/ton discount on December shipment PE cargoes, concluding deals at $1010-1020/ton for LLDPE film and $1100/ton for HDPE film, all based on CIF Vietnam, LC AS term. Larger buyers received more discounts.

A number of regular customers decided to take only small quantity claiming the high risk associated with the cargoes. “The lead time is too long while it is very likely that HDPE film prices might drop further. We decided to skip purchases this time,” a regional buyer added. 

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