Chinese players: PE market ended the week on firmer note

The Chinese PE market surprised players with $10-20/t gain in value on the last trading day of the month, when the approaching Chinese New Year would traditionally create a slower buying interest. Today, it is interesting to see there is still purchasing activities reported in the market. 

A trader in Guangdong sold Iranian LDPE film at $1150/t FCA China, LC AS term, a $10-20/t higher than the previous trading day. The source commented, “Local traders are still making last minutes purchases, hence we maintain very firm stance on our offers. However, the concluded orders are mostly in small quantity. We think that there will be minimal trading activities by the coming week.”

Meanwhile, a major Southeast Asian producer decided to lift their HDPE film offer by $20/t compared to yesterday to reach $1080/t CFR China, LC AS term. The producer source said, “We only have a very small quantity left to offer now, yet most of our regular customers have gone for Chinese New Year by now.”   

Other players take it as a normal market reaction to last minutes purchases and express a very conservative expectation regarding the near term outlook. Local producers are reportedly increasing their offers for February delivery by CNY50-150/t in the absence of inventory pressure.   

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