Recovery hopes dashed again in China PP, PE markets

In China, import PP and PE prices have witnessed slight decreases so far this week, letting down expectations of a sustained recovery once again.

China’s steps to loosen Covid-19 curbs, which are considered a major policy shift in the country’s national pandemic response, have underpinned the market sentiment recently. Still, demand has remained slow amid buyers’ cautious stance, reversing a stable to firmer trend that kicked off in mid-November .

The recent  losses in Dalian futures prices, driven by the oil markets, and an expected rise in overseas supply toward the year-end have also played a role in the recent trend, market players said.



Mid-East origin PP, PE prices lose up to $20

Middle East origin homo-PP raffia and injection prices have been stable to $20/ton lower from last week to be assessed at $860-900/ton CIF China, cash basis.

As a PP trader said, “Import PP prices are stable to lower this week. News such as Chinese state bank lending fund to top developers and easing Covid-19 lockdowns has boosted market sentiment. However, demand is still affected by the off-season and markets still need more clarity.”

PE prices of the same origin are standing at $1000-1010/ton CIF for LDPE film, $890-920/ton CIF for HDPE film, and $900-940/ton CIF for LLDPE film with the same origins. The weekly changes have been stable to $20/ton lower for LDPE film while being limited to $10-20/ton for HDPE and LLDPE film.

A PE trader also underlined a potential pressure of an increasing number of import cargoes at the end of the year. "Many overseas suppliers are diverting their cargoes to China as they are unable to sell to other regions such as Southeast Asia,” he explained.