Sellers in Turkey: PP activity improves, PE remains weak

In Turkey, polyolefin markets were on a decreasing trend since mid-March, which caused buyers to keep their purchasing volumes restricted over the period.

The downturn for PP has lost steam starting from last week in tandem with an improved sentiment due to firmer local prices in China amidst the crude rebound and relatively reduced supplies. Accordingly, Turkish PP buyers returned to the market. “We don’t expect prices to turn up but they are likely to stabilize at current levels,” a sack maker confirmed.

However, overall activity remained dampened for PE, players confirmed, as the market continues to be weighed down by ample supplies particularly for HDPE and slow buying appetite ahead of Ramadan.

“We have received an increasing number of price inquiries for PP as prompt supply is not so comfortable and more buyers are convinced that the market has reached the bottom. Nonetheless, our PE sales remained stagnant for another week,” a trader reported. Particularly HDPE film and blow moulding grades continue to face thin buying interest amidst oversupply issues owing to competitive prices for Iranian origins, local resellers concurred.

A large polyolefin trader voiced his expectations to receive rollovers from Saudi Arabian sources for June PP cargos by next week, while he believes PE still has some room to lose. “We can’t say PP prices have turned up but the bearish trend has come to an end as the previous low ends have faded and buying interest has picked up recently. Yet, the PE market remains under downward pressure of ample HDPE supplies.”