Import PP, PE prices for May announced lower to SE Asia

25-Apr-13

Players in Southeast Asia report that major overseas suppliers have started to announce May PP and PE prices with decreases to reflect the recent losses in upstream markets as well as lackluster demand, as per ChemOrbis.A source at a Southeast Asian producer reported to have down-adjusted prices by US$40/ton for LDPE, US$40-50/ton for HDPE and US$50-60/ton for PP. “Demand remains poor, especially for PE, as most players are concerned about the impact of Exxon’s new capacity in Singapore. We are spending more time on our PP copolymer business these days as demand for PP copolymer is doing a bit better than demand for homo-PP,” the source reported. A trader offering on behalf of another Southeast Asian producer said that they lowered their prices by US$50/ton for LDPE, US$90/ton for homo-PP and by US$70-80/ton for PP copolymer. “We are still trying to gauge the market response as we have only recently released our new prices but we are not all that optimistic about the demand outlook for the coming month,” the trader commented. A source at a Taiwanese producer is said to have reduced May prices for both homo-PP and PP copolymer by US$30/ton. “Demand is not very encouraging these days as most buyers are limiting their purchases in expectation of seeing further price reductions in the days ahead. We are not very optimistic about our prospects for the short term as supply levels are sufficient. PP copolymer demand is somewhat stronger than homo-PP demand for now,” the source commented. Meanwhile, a Saudi Arabian producer announced May prices with $50-60/ton decreases for PP and $60-70/ton decreases for LLDPE and HDPE. “Buying interest is not very good as most converters are expecting further decreases. However, we feel that prices will not witness any significant declines assuming that energy prices remain close to their current levels,” a producer source stated. According to ChemOrbis, another Middle Eastern producer said that they lowered their LLDPE film prices for May with a US$40/ton drop from April. “We have received some bids from buyers at levels well below our new prices, but we are unwilling to offer large reductions on our prices, even though we feel that further decreases may emerge over the coming month. Less than encouraging demand and softer ethylene feedstock costs are weighing down market sentiment,” a producer source reported.