Import PP prices from traders soften amid holiday lull in Turkey

PP prices saw slight discounts this week as resistance from Turkish buyers towards the higher ends of the market mounted. Adding to the holiday mood that already kicked in, most buyers were already covered which kept activity stalled as the end of July neared.

Despite slightly firmer expectations for August propylene contracts in Europe and nearly 5-month high spot propylene in Asia, tepid demand and a lack of serious supply issues dimmed the post-Eid outlook in Turkey.



Egyptian PP raffia emerged with a rollover

Fresh PP raffia offers for Egyptian origin have showed up with rollovers at $1010/ton DAP Turkey, cash with a few August deals forming the low end of the overall import market. No PP fibre offers were available at the time of publication, meanwhile.

Saudi Arabian origins were notionally flat at $940-950/ton CIF, subject to 6.5% customs duty, cash versus talks of $920-930/ton for Russian origins.

Saudi Arabian PP fibre at $1000 CFR failed to work

Saudi fibre were assessed flat at $980-990/ton CIF, as attempts for $1000/ton failed to turn to done deals. “A trader who was insisting on $1000/ton sounded okay with $980/ton this week as buying interest has been low,” said a bcf converter.

European offers were adjusted due to high €/USD

European PP raffia at €900/ton ($1040/ton) CIF faced stiff resistance from converters with bids at €840/ton ($971/ton). This was mainly because the €/USD parity has hit a 21-month high of 1.16 after EU members agreed on a massive rescue plan to combat with the impact of pandemic.

For PP fibre, European prices were trimmed to $1020/ton CIF, no duty towards the end of this week following firmer attempts for $1040-1050/ton back in H1 July.

Projections are voiced for August

August may see more rollover announcements from regular PP producers so long as costs retain their strength. A few of them did not exclude the possibility of modest discounts on August deals in case activity remains hindered.

A large buyer noted, “We have sufficient inventories and have no plan to secure any distant cargos. There is plentiful supplies in the local market if we need material.”

Elsewhere, weak local prices driven by Dalian Commodity Exchange led to an easing in China’s import PP market as well. This coupled with skepticism over whether or not further hikes would pass on deals in Europe amid still slow auto industry and summer holidays generated further caution for September in Turkey.