PE prices remain under pressure from ample supplies in SE Asia

In Southeast Asia’s PE market, prices have been unresponsive to the cautious recovery in the nearby Chinese market, maintaining their decreasing trend in the midst of mounting supplies, particularly from the US.

Import PE prices for dutiable and non-dutiable origins were quoted at $1050-1150/ton for HDPE film and at $950-1060/ton for both LDPE and LLDPE film, all on CIF SEA, cash basis.

On a week over week comparison, the HDPE range was down by $40-70/ton while LDPE and LLDPE were stable to $10-30/ton softer.



A trader operating in Malaysia reported that he received US PE offers at $1050/ton for HDPE film and at $950/ton for both LDPE and LLDPE film, on CIF, cash basis.

He opined, “We believe that the temporary truce between China and the US is not enough to clear uncertainty over the long term outlook. We are receiving an increasing number of offers for US PE. Hence prices in Southeast Asia are not likely to rebound for now given increasing supply pressure.”

Some overseas suppliers confirmed that demand from Southeast Asia remained limited in spite of slightly higher prices in China.

“We don’t expect the region’s PE market to rebound over the short term,” a source from a Middle Eastern producer commented.

Meanwhile, in the upstream markets, spot ethylene prices have extended their falls so far this week, hitting a more than three-year low, according to weekly average data from ChemOrbis Price Wizard.