Asia Daily PP and PE Overview – 25 December 2018

CHINA

•        Local market continue seeing more price cuts 
•        Volatility in import PP market persist while PE market mixed 

Polypropylene (PP)

Import homo-PP to China is on a rollercoaster ride. Prices dived to the $1000/ton in the previous week and at the time this report is published, no offers below the $1050/ton is observed. This situation has been taking place since the beginning of the month, signaling the market’s struggle to determine the direction.

In the local ground, spot sellers offer another CNY50-100/ton ($7-15/ton) discount from the previous trading day to attract more buying interest before the long weekend holidays. “At CNY100/ton reduction, buyers are more willing to place orders, but still in small quantity. Sentiment remains soft,” a trader said.  

Polyethylene (PE)

The import PE market is rather mixed. Thai major steps back on PE offers by $10-20/ton week on week while a Saudi maker lifted prices by $20/ton from last month. “In either way, customers are not aggressively placing bid, instead, taking time to evaluate the market situation amid comfortable local supply,” a source said while adding that several PE plant in Southern China have restarted from scheduled shutdown and easing availability here.

There are reports on the shipment issues for Iranian cargoes, which might tighten the availability for this origin in the near term.

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