Polyethylene sellers in Europe seek rollover, buyers press for discounts

Players in Europe report that PE sellers are attempting to maintain their prices for July based on some ongoing availability issues and the rollover on the July ethylene contract while buyers are pressing for discounts as supplies are starting to loosen while prices remain at near record highs on euro basis, according to ChemOrbis Price Index. A compounder based in Italy reported, “We purchased some material from a South European producer with a rollover as our West European supplier informed us that their supplies are still very limited. There are some import materials available in the market as well, but we are not considering these materials as we expect regional prices to start coming down soon.” Another Italian converter said that they received July offers with rollovers for MDPE film and €20/ton decreases for HDPE film. “We purchased some locally-held Middle Eastern HDPE film from a trader with a €20/ton reduction from June as this offer was more competitive than the offer we received for West European HDPE,” the buyer reported. A trader based in Italy is said to have concluded deals for West European LDPE and LLDPE film with rollovers to €10/ton decreases from June. “Some deals were done with discounts as demand is not encouraging, although producers are still standing firm on their prices and are not willing to give substantial discounts. Supply for some grades, such as mLLDPE and LLDPE c8, remains tight. More import cargoes are coming into the region, which is putting some downward pressure on prices,” the distributor stated. A trader based in France said that they are seeking rollovers on their July offers for a West European origin. “Supply remains generally tight and we are confident that we will be able to sell out our materials soon,” the trader reported. A distributor based in Belgium is offering a locally-held Middle Eastern LDPE origin with €20/ton reductions from last month. “We are facing some resistance from buyers even after our price reduction as buyers claim that there are more competitive prices available in the spot market,” the distributor stated. In Germany, a distributor is said to be offering a South European origin with €30-50/ton reductions from June as per ChemOrbis pricing service. “Our supply remains limited, but we have enough material this month to cover the needs of our regular customers. Activity is a bit limited in the market as many buyers are trying to delay their purchases to August in anticipation that further reductions may be available next month,” the distributor stated. A different German distributor, however, reported offering a West European origin with rollovers for LDPE and €20-30/ton increases for HDPE. “We are seeking increases for HDPE as our supply for this product remains short. We believe that the market will remain stable in August and that decreases will only occur in September,” the distributor commented.