Turkish polymer players voice Jan expectations ahead of holiday

Polymer markets are about to end 2017 off pretty soon while Turkish participants have expressed January expectations during this week. Prices are ending the year on a firm note for several products due to either limited availability or upward pressure from costs, meanwhile.

PP prices posted gradual increases for almost 2 months now on the strength of limited availability from Iran and the Middle East. Reduced stocks on the side of Petkim and healthy demand particularly for raffia propped up the bullish trend. Further gains are projected for January in line with the strong scene in China, with players saying: “PP fibre supply is set to be tight over the near term.”

PVC suppliers are set for a strong return as export offers from the US are due for further gains on rising ethylene costs and limited allocations from the country. “US k67 prices will probably see $900/ton CIF threshold soon,” buyers concurred. Yet, the low construction season might keep purchasing volumes limited on part of manufacturers, some argued.

“January ethylene contracts are likely to settle higher in Europe. However, whether regional PVC makers will manage to reflect higher costs onto their prices this time or not is still a question mark,” commented a pipe producer. In December, European PVC sellers confined themselves to rollovers given unsupportive demand although they initially sought small hikes.

As for PE, constantly cautious demand prevented some sellers to reach their firmer price goals during December. Yet, tight supplies for HDPE products strengthened the January outlook. “Turkey’s HDPE market continues to trade much almost $115/ton below China. HDPE film, b/m and pipe 100 (black) hint at higher offers as poor netbacks caused Uzbek, Iranian and US producers to be ungenerous in terms of quotas to Turkey in the recent months,” stated traders. A Mid-Eastern source already revealed $30/ton increases for film, while rolling over LDPE and LLDPE from December.

Turkey’s PS market hit 3-month high in December. This was driven by consecutive hikes from Asian and European sources amidst soaring styrene prices and lack of HIPS supply from Iran. The recent volatility in styrene costs force players to be more cautious for January, whereas many players expect the recent softening for the feedstock to be short-lived due to the upcoming turnarounds in spring. “Our Indian producer adjusted its PS offers slightly down this week while we expect the market to hover at current levels in early January. Supply from Iran will be less due to the recent surveillance measures on PS imports. This may trigger supply concerns at a later stage,” a trader commented.