Players anticipate upto three digit decreases on Sept PE deals in Europe

03-Sep-15

PE deals in the region are likely to settle with up to three digit decreases for the month of September following the €90/ton reduction in the monthly ethylene contract, according to players in Europe. Players add that demand remains limited as many buyers have not yet started to place their new orders for the month. A West European major reported concluding some spot deals for September with €100-150/ton decreases from August, as per ChemOrbis pricing service. “Our supply levels are comfortable for September as we had not sold a large amount of material for August. We agreed to decreases above the drop in the ethylene contract as we feel that sentiment is likely to remain bearish over the near to medium term,” a producer source reported. A South European producer said that they are offering their September gentlemens’ agreements with €100/ton decreases after concluding their August gentlemens’ agreements with €70-80/ton reductions from July. A trader offering West European and Middle Eastern cargoes said that they lowered their spot prices by €100/ton for LDPE and HDPE while cutting their prices for LLDPE by €90-100/ton. “We tried to keep our price adjustments in line with the drop in the ethylene contract. We have good availability for HDPE blow moulding and LDPE injection while our allocations for other PE products are regular. We anticipate limited purchasing activity in September as most buyers anticipate further reductions in October,” the trader reported. A distributor offering on behalf of a South European producer expressed their September sell ideas with €100/ton reductions from August. “We are still waiting to receive official offers from our supplier, but we anticipate triple digit reductions. We expect to have sufficient allocations for all products this month,” the distributor stated. According to ChemOrbis, a household products manufacturer in Italy reported concluding some spot deals for September for West European origins with €120/ton reductions for LDPE film and €100/ton decreases for MDPE film, adding that they are waiting for further reductions before making any additional purchases. Another buyer reported receiving September offers for West European HDPE blow moulding with €100/ton reductions from August. “We plan to accept this level as our stock levels are running a bit low,” the converter reported.