PET down in UK despite continuation of Lotte UK force majeure

13-Jul-15

Polyethylene terephthalate price in the UK fell this week despite Lotte Chemical's force majeure at its Teesside plant remaining in place, according to sources in Platts. Lotte Chemical declared force majeure at its PET facility in Teesside in late May, citing a production issue. Of the two lines it operates at the site, the new 200,000 m tpa line was taken offline, while the old line 150,000 m tpa was unaffected. Lotte restarted production in late June and although operations and delivery patterns are returning to normal, force majeure has not been lifted. Despite a tightening in the UK market in June and the force majeure remaining in place, the UK spot price fell further this week. The decrease in June has been attributed to weak demand. Although buying appetite improved marginally in July and Lotte's force majeure remained, the spot price continued its downward path. Sources expected the spot price to further fall in July. "I expect an erosion in prices," the trader said, adding recent falls in the oil price had turned sentiment bearish. Lotte returning to [full] production may lower prices," another trader added.