Recycled Polymers - Europe January 2017

Month: January 2017
	€/ton	€/ton
Recycled Grades	Min	Max
R-PET Flakes Clear/Blue	690	830
R- HDPE Black Corrugated Pipes (PIR**)	800	910
R- HDPE Black Pipes (PIR**)	880	990
R- LDPE Black Film (PCR*)	660	800
R- LDPE Film (PIR**)	1050	1100
R- homo-PP black injection(PIR**)	830	860
R- homo-PP injection (PIR**)	890	920
R- PPBC injection (PIR**)	820	1020

* (post-consumer recycle)
** (post-industrial recycle)

R-PET market saw a reversal of the trend in January as anticipated in the last update. Post-consumer PET bottle auctions were closed with an increase of €30-40/ton from December and the upsurge was reflected on R-PET flake prices. R-PET range for clear grade is at €730-830/ton, up €20/ton on the low end and €40/ton on the high end. R-PET light blue grade range is at €690-740/ton, with an increase of €20/ton on both ends of the range. A recycler applied increases between €20-40/ton, with the higher increases applied on clear grade material. The seller commented, “The amount of the increase was limited in January while demand was regular. However, we will seek further increases in February, considering the upsurge in prime PET.” A converter in the packaging sector reported to have received offers with increases between €10-30/ton from December, with the stronger increases reported on clear grade material. Another buyer said, “We have purchased R-PET with small increases over December. We purchased good volumes also for February as we think that prices will continue to go up due to rising trend of prime PET while supply could diminish on lower consumption of PET bottles during the winter season.” Players in the R-PET market expect to see an upward trend also for February due to the rapid hikes posted by prime PET. However, supply is in balance with low demand for now, but there are concerns about diminishing supplies due to the low consumption of bottles amid cold weather conditions.

R-HDPE market remained unchanged with respect to December, with stable prices reported both on the low and high ends of the ranges. A recycler who maintained stable prices from December commented, “The market has been calm in January and we sold volumes in line with our expectations, although demand in the end product sectors of our customers remains low. We will try to seek price hikes in February, considering the upward trend of prime PE. Supply remains comfortable and it is higher than demand.” A buyer who purchases both R-HDPE Black Pipes (PIR) and R-HDPE Black Corrugated Pipes (PIR) reported to have paid stable prices in January with respect December and commented, “January has been a short month for our activity, but we saw a good number of orders and better demand than in December. We expect that recyclers will seek higher prices in February as prime HDPE is rising up as well. Though, supply of R-HDPE material remains good.” A pipe producer purchased R-HDPE Black Corrugated Pipes at unchanged levels compared to last month and said, “Prices were rolled over again in January, but we expect a reversal of the trend starting from February or March, although we didn’t have any supply issues.” As anticipated in the previous update, the market remained mainly unchanged with respect to December, while expectations from both sellers and buyers’ side are firmer for February due to the rise of prime PE material, although demand is still not brilliant in the R-HDPE market.

R-LDPE market saw a stable trend in January with a few variations depending on the products. R-LDPE black film (PCR) prices remained stable on the low ends while they posted a small reduction of €10/ton on the high end. A recycler reported to have sold his material for January with small reductions of €10/ton on the high end and commented, “The market in January remained mainly stable and demand has been regular. However, we noticed an uptick in export activities towards China and Southeast Asia in the last few weeks and therefore we think that supply could become tighter. For this reason, we will try to raise our offers in February, but it may be possible that the increases will be more obtainable in March, ahead of high season.” Regarding R-LDPE film (PIR), prices posted a stable to firmer trend, with a rollover on the low end and an increase of €20/ton on the high end of the range. A distributor reported to have sold material with limited increases from December while a buyer said, “We paid stable prices for R-LDPE film (PIR), although we had received higher offers at the beginning of the month, which we were able to negotiate for a rollover.”

R-PP market followed a stable trend in January. Buyers complained about a weak demand for this month while supply is still reported to be ample in the market. A compounder reported to have purchased R-PPH black injection (PIR) at a rollover from December. The buyer commented, “Supply is ample for R-PP products while demand remains weak. We think that the market might see new increases starting from next week.” Another buyer purchased his R-PPH Black Injection (PIR) for January at rollover over last month while confirming his expectations of higher prices starting from February/March. The buyer cited comfortable supply and weak demand as the main reasons behind the stable levels requested from his suppliers. A supplier of R-PPBC Black (PIR) and Recycled PP commented, “We sold our material at a rollover from December. Demand has been stable over last month while supply is still ample in the market. Plus, we are already receiving a good number of orders for February and we expect an upward trend starting from March.” Expectations are centered on a bullish trend for both February and March while supply remains ample amidst a weak demand.

Price ranges reported include an average freight cost to the customers’ location as well as duties if applicable, although VAT is not included.