Philippines’ local PP, PE markets move higher

Players in the Philippines reported that a domestic producer elected to apply increases on its PP and PE offers to the local market as of this week. The producer reportedly increased its prices by PHP3000/ton ($60/ton) for LLDPE and by PHP2000/ton ($40/ton) for PP and HDPE when compared to its latest levels.

According to players, the producer’s PP raffia prices currently stand at PHP75,000/ton ($1323/ton without VAT) on an FD, cash equivalent basis inc VAT. As for PE, local LLDPE and HDPE film prices are quoted at PHP76,000/ton ($1340/ton without VAT) with the same terms.

A trader commented, “The producer’s HDPE increase is in line with our expectations based on the ongoing tightness. However, we were surprised to see such hikes for LLDPE and PP.”

A converter also said, “Trading activities in our end-product markets are yet to recover and we weren’t expecting to see such visible increases in local PP and PE offers. We are planning to limit our purchases according to our immediate needs.”

Meanwhile, data from ChemOrbis Price Index reveal that the weekly average of local HDPE film prices in the Philippines has recently reached its highest level since July 2015, standing above LLDPE film prices for the past month.