PP buyers in Italy unresponsive to June price cuts

15-Jun-11

Players report lack of much activity in Italy’s PP market this month despite visible price cuts from regional sellers, as per ChemOrbis. Most buyers prefer to remain on the sidelines in anticipation of more attractive prices in the weeks ahead pointing to ample supplies and the globally bearish market trend. Unspectacular demand over the month of May, the earlier influx of lower priced non-European cargoes and lower feedstock prices pushed European sellers to introduce considerable price cuts of €30-80/ton for June. The downward trend continued as some distributors close to the upper end conceded to larger discounts of up to €150/ton last week to match the average market level. While local sellers in Italy are attempting to attract interest through price cuts, most buyers say they prefer to remain in the sidelines from the market until they are convinced that the decreasing trend is over. They are limiting purchases as much as possible considering possible further decreases in the coming term. Although many buyers reported receiving prices up to €200/ton below the high end of the spot market from resellers, particularly for Middle Eastern, West and Central European origins over the past week, these prices failed to attract buying interest , as buyers prefer to wait for a while before engaging in fresh purchases. A converter producing garden furniture reported that he is not interested in new purchases for now due to the low season. He feels that demand is slow in general as other buyers are hesitant to make fresh purchases in anticipation of further fall in prices in the coming months due to comfortable supply. Some near-to-prime cargoes were traded in the market at lower prices, which would put pressure on prices of prime materials in the days ahead, he commented. A distributor also confirmed that converters are postponing their purchases as much as possible due to the decreasing trend while another seller said due to slow end product business buyers want to use up their existing stocks first.