Asia Daily PP and PE Overview – 20 December 2018

CHINA

•       Local spot market is soft; import PP sees limited movement
•       Import PE ground searches direction 

Polypropylene (PP)

There is very limited movement in the import ground after the latest price cut on Vietnamese cargoes. Customers are taking very cautious stance and refrain from making large purchases knowing that support for any drastic hike is not that strong.

In the local ground, sellers are not aggressive in pushing cargoes out, but offer CNY50/ton ($7/ton) discount from the previous trading day following the weakness in the futures market. Traders informed that they are slowing down the offers to collect the pending payment before starting a new year. “We would have half of January to push out additional quantity before the Lunar New Year. It is short and the demand prospect remains a question,” a trader added.      

Polyethylene (PE)

There is a mixed development in the import PE market as several sellers actively claimed limited availability while Thailand maker stepped back on the offers from the previous day’s hike.  

“Ethylene costs are firmer, and we have yet to see the support. Customers resisted the higher prices and we just concern if the market would soften again,” a trader said. 

SOUTHEAST ASIA 

•        Saudi maker slashed PP offers to Vietnam after the brief hike 
•        More producers open January offers for PP and PE 

Polypropylene (PP)

A brief hike in import homo-PP offers to Vietnam apparently did not last for long. A major Saudi Arabia producer decided to step back $30/ton from the price list – an amount that is even larger than the initial hike. Deals have been achieved at $1070/ton CIF Vietnam, LC AS term.

“It is harder to lift prices than expected. The resistance is just too strong. We only hope that market would not breach below the previous low,” a distributor commented. 

Polyethylene (PE)

Another Saudi Arabia producer open new PE offers to Indonesia for January shipment and except for LLDPE film with $20/ton reduction, HDPE film and LDPE lamination plunged $80/ton and $100/ton respectively. Weak regional sentiment is the main driver behind the steep price cut.

“Supply is regular this month. We are comparing the prospect between China and SEA market and might adjust the allocation accordingly. For HDPE, we are planning a scheduled shutdown in January, therefore, we might not be able to offer any major discount,” a source close to the producer said.  

Detailed price information for PP and PE are on Polymer Prices section.