PP hikes stumble due to slow demand in Europe
by ChemOrbis Editorial Team - content@chemorbis.com
Hike attempts are voiced in the European PP market following the settlement of November propylene settlements which were finalized with €30/ton increases. Some sellers applied increases on PP matching the entire monomer hike to save their margins. On the other hand, some players think that producers cannot achieve the full monomer increase due to low demand.
A West European producer announced their official offers for November with €30/ton increases. A producer source claimed, “Even though demand from our customers is rather good, we don’t think the entire monomer hike will be achievable for the time being.”
An end product manufacturer reported that one of their regular West European suppliers announced their official offers for November with €30/ton increases. The buyer stated, “Other European suppliers also aim for hikes matching the monomer increase. However, we are not willing to pay any increase given the fact that upstream markets lost some ground recently and demand is low.”
A trader said that his supplier’s official hike requests are equal to the full propylene increases. “However, we will not be able to achieve these hikes as demand seems to be rather weak,” he commented.
Another trader said that he is offering with €20-30/ton increases following his supplier’s guidelines. The distributor reported, “Overall demand is still quiet and we are skeptical whether these hikes will be reflected on November PP prices.”
A distributor in Germany tried to apply full monomer hikes in the first place, but they had to lower their hike targets to €15/ton on weak demand. “We have sourced in small quantities from our supplier and we are currently doing back to back business,” added the distributor.
A different distributor in France reported rolling over his prices compared to October given the persistent slowness in demand, adding that he doesn’t expect any change until the end of the year.
Spot PP prices are expected to remain unchanged or register increases below that of propylene settlements due to sluggish demand and sellers’ destocking activities ahead of the year-end.
A West European producer announced their official offers for November with €30/ton increases. A producer source claimed, “Even though demand from our customers is rather good, we don’t think the entire monomer hike will be achievable for the time being.”
An end product manufacturer reported that one of their regular West European suppliers announced their official offers for November with €30/ton increases. The buyer stated, “Other European suppliers also aim for hikes matching the monomer increase. However, we are not willing to pay any increase given the fact that upstream markets lost some ground recently and demand is low.”
A trader said that his supplier’s official hike requests are equal to the full propylene increases. “However, we will not be able to achieve these hikes as demand seems to be rather weak,” he commented.
Another trader said that he is offering with €20-30/ton increases following his supplier’s guidelines. The distributor reported, “Overall demand is still quiet and we are skeptical whether these hikes will be reflected on November PP prices.”
A distributor in Germany tried to apply full monomer hikes in the first place, but they had to lower their hike targets to €15/ton on weak demand. “We have sourced in small quantities from our supplier and we are currently doing back to back business,” added the distributor.
A different distributor in France reported rolling over his prices compared to October given the persistent slowness in demand, adding that he doesn’t expect any change until the end of the year.
Spot PP prices are expected to remain unchanged or register increases below that of propylene settlements due to sluggish demand and sellers’ destocking activities ahead of the year-end.
More free plastics news
Plastic resin (PP, LDPE, LLDPE ,HDPE, PVC, GPS; HIPS, PET, ABS) prices, polymer market trends, and more...- Import PE prices fall to lowest in more than a decade across Asia
- Tightness pushes Asian PVC markets to 3-month high
- China’s PE market continues bearish run on sluggish demand
- PP and PE markets turn softer in Egypt, Mid-East
- European PET extends bearish trend into 3rd consecutive month
- European PS, ABS markets down after 4 months
- Thai PP, PE markets subdued by slowing economy, competitive imports
- Vietnam’s PE market extends losses into June on frail demand
- Asian spot naphtha prices pull back from multi-month highs
- China gears up for new PP start-ups in H2 2019
