Plastics News and Polymer Prices

Are European ethylene contracts heading for 3rd straight month of hikes?
by Başak Ceylan
April is only halfway through. However, players in Europe already started discussing the next ethylene contract as April is a shorter month due to Easter and bank holidays. Early expectations are that prices are likely to settle higher, with anticipated increase amounts ranging between €30/ton and €50/ton...
17-04-2019

Taiwanese major’s May PVC offers to Asia see larger-than-expected drops
by Pınar Polat
The size of a major Taiwanese PVC producer’s price reductions for May offers to the Asian markets exceeded players’ expectations, which had mostly centered on rollovers to slight drops. Accordingly, import PVC prices have hit more-than-two-and-a-half-year low across Asia...
16-04-2019

Asian ABS sellers renew confidence in shadow of volatile styrene
by Merve Sezgün
Import ABS prices in China and Southeast Asia resumed their rising path last week after two weeks of declines. Strong crude oil futures encouraged sellers to adopt a firm stance although the ongoing fluctuations in the spot styrene market kept buyers cautious about making fresh purchases...
15-04-2019

Bullish run loses steam in Turkey’s PP, PE markets
by Merve Madakbaşı
Import PP prices have followed a bullish path since mid-January driven by dwindling supplies. PE started to follow suit by March while increases gained momentum in April due to reduced allocations from the Middle East...
12-04-2019

Tepid demand caps larger PP hikes in Europe, PE fares better
by Manolya Tufan
In Europe, the polyolefin markets witnessed initial April hikes surpassing the monthly monomer hikes, which came at €20/ton for propylene and €30/ton for ethylene. However, players concurred that it is more probable for PE sellers to obtain hikes slightly above the monomer hike compared to PP...
11-04-2019