August shipment HDPE cargoes resume by Marun Petrochemical from the 300,000 tpa Mahshahr plant

12-Jul-10

August shipment high density polyethylene (HDPE) film cargoes have been offered from Iran's Marun Petrochemical from the 300,000 tpa HDPE plant in Mahshahr, after the plant has restarted post-turnaround, as per Platts. Marun Petrochemical had brought forward the turnaround at the Mahshahr plant to early June to help ease the supply glut witnessed in markets de to weak market sentiment in China. Worries of a slowing economy kept HDPE inventories high in China. Now, with the resumption of exports from Iran, other buyers are expected to be negatively impacted in the lackluster markets. Due to US trade sanctions, Iranian products do not trade freely on the international market and often carry a discount over parcels of other origins. The current discounted levels are expected to exert significant pressure on PE prices as Chinese buyers often pick the best-cost option.