Initial July PE prices announced lower to China, SEA

Players in China and Southeast Asian report that import PE prices for July are being announced with decreases. Sufficient stock levels, softer upstream costs and disappointing demand were cited among the main reasons for the decline in PE prices.

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A Thai producer announced their July prices to the Chinese market with decreases of $130/ton for LDPE film, $30-40/ton for LLDPE film and $20/ton for HDPE film. “Buying interest remains sluggish even at our new price levels,” a source from the producer commented. A source from another Southeast Asian producer stated, “We lowered our HDPE film prices to the Chinese market by $30/ton and managed to conclude some deals after agreeing to additional discounts of $10-20/ton. We are not feeling all that optimistic about our prospects for the month ahead.”

A trader based in Malaysia reported that they reduced their July prices for Southeast Asian LDPE film by $70/ton in accordance with their supplier’s price reductions. “Buying interest is not very encouraging these days and we may try to persuade our supplier to concede to further discounts if we can locate some firm bids,” the trader commented. A source from a Southeast Asian producer said, “We are thinking of announcing our July prices with decreases of $60/ton for both HDPE and LDPE film. We are holding off on announcing our new prices for now as we want to see some more offers from other producers first.”

An Indonesian converter manufacturing plastic bags and packaging products reported receiving July prices from a Middle Eastern source with decreases of $30/ton for HDPE film and $60/ton for LLDPE film. “Even though the offers we received for Middle Eastern imports have moved lower, we are in no rush to purchase for now as supply levels are sufficient in the local market and demand for our end products is not all that encouraging these days,” the buyer reported.