Middle Eastern PE prices emerge for Jan in Turkey

In Turkey, Middle Eastern PE producers started to reveal their January prices with increases this week. Hike requests were already expected among players despite the slow atmosphere heading to the year-end considering the firmer sell ideas expressed by sellers last week.

A Saudi Arabian major’s new prices were at $1200-1220/ton for LLDPE c4 film and $1200/ton for HDPE film, FCA Turkey, subject to 6.5% customs duty, cash. These levels indicated increases ranging between $20-50/ton compared to the December deals of various buyers. “This was in line with the recent speculation that the producer could issue increases of around $40/ton,” a buyer said.

A Middle Eastern PE source is seeking hikes of $10/ton for LDPE grades bringing their latest offers to $1220/ton for film and $1230/ton for general purpose, CIF Turkey, subject to 6.5% customs duty, cash. The seller’s latest LLDPE c4 film and HDPE film prices were reported at $1140-1150/ton with the same terms, up $40-50/ton from last December deals.

“We will not have much allocation for another month,” said a producer source, adding that they already concluded some deals at their current price levels. A buyer reported, “We received slightly higher LDPE prices from our supplier. We skipped January in terms of purchasing as we think that prices may not change for February considering the New Year holiday in China. Our supplier was not aggressive to sell either given their already restricted availability.”

An agent of a global PE producer voiced his expectations to receive higher guidelines from their head quarter soon once their global supplier returns from Christmas Holiday. “We may see up to $50/ton increases from our Saudi source while whether the full hike targets could be materialized or not will depend on demand side,” the source underlined.

On the other hand, a packager who confirmed receiving higher January offers from the region opined, “We aren’t feeling sure if these latest levels will see acceptance from buyers. This week, there is no activity in the market given the widely felt new-year mood. The picture will be clearer next week.”