Sustainable Plastics - September/October 2020 - 33

polymer prices

European petrochemical feedstock contract prices; August - September 2020 (€/tonne)

Ethylene
Propylene
Styrene
Benzene
Paraxylene

June

July

August

Sept

680.0

764.0

785.0

630.0

705.0

732.5

732.0

677.0

763.0

767.0

754.0

-13

293.0

369.0

375.0

366.0

-9

507.5

520.0

*520.0

L/LDPE
L/LDPE prices remained unchanged during
the first three weeks of September following a rollover for the ethylene contract price.
Producers initially attempted price hikes to
restore profit margins, but it soon became
apparent these plans were too ambitious
given unsupportive demand.
The post-holiday revival in demand failed
to materialize as expected with many converters running down their existing stocks
or buying on a needs-only basis. This was
based on a growing expectation of softening
prices during the fourth quarter and further
possible lockdowns. Packaging continued to
fare better than other sectors.
There was sufficient material available
during the first half of the month to satisfy
weak demand. Following Hurricane "Laura"
in the US, LLDPE imports have virtually dried
up because the infrastructure of the PE production plants in the southeast of the country was heavily damaged.

HDPE
HDPE prices were unchanged during the
first three weeks of September following a
rollover for the ethylene contract price. Producers initially attempted price hikes to restore profit margins, but it soon became apparent these plans were too ambitious given
unsupportive demand.
The post-holiday revival in demand failed
to materialize as expected with many converters running down their existing stocks
or buying on a needs-only basis. This was
based on a growing expectation of softening
prices during the fourth quarter and further
possible lockdowns. Packaging continued to
fare better than other sectors.
There was sufficient material available
during the first half of the month to satisfy
weak demand. Following Hurricane "Laura"
in the US, HDPE imports have virtually dried
up because the infrastructure of the PE production plants in the southeast of the country was heavily damaged.

PP
PP prices were flat during the first three
weeks following a rollover for the September
propylene contract price. Producers were
pinning their hopes on demand picking up
after the holidays and for a further firming in
prices, but demand was unsupportive.
Post-holiday demand disappointed as
converters ran down their existing stocks
and bought on a needs-only basis. There
was a growing expectation of lower prices
during the fourth quarter and a fear of further lockdowns as the pandemic worsened.
Packaging, home appliances and household products fared better than the automotive sector.
Despite a global propylene shortage as a
result of cracker outages, buyers had no difficulty obtaining the PP material they wanted.
Some sources reported that suppliers
may concede to slight price reductions in
the latter half of the month if demand remains weak.

PVC
European PVC prices continued to climb
during September as a result of supply tightness and lively demand. PVC sellers called
for price hikes of between €50-80/tonne
despite a rollover for the ethylene contract
price. By mid-September, PVC contract prices were settling with gains of at least €50/
tonne over the previous month.
Producers' stock levels were extremely
low due to various ongoing and forthcoming
plant turnarounds or unexpected production
issues. In addition, supply was further shortened by a virtual lack of imports due to high
demand in other regions of the world. Production outages due to hurricane 'Laura' in
the US further limited the already weak import situation.
Order intake was better than expected as
converters replenished inventories on their
return from summer holidays. Construction
continued to perform well while export orders also picked up sharply.

Change June/Aug

€/tonne

PS
Most European PS producers were content to
accept a price rollover in September and improve margins after the styrene reference price
fell €13/tonne. Meanwhile, Trinseo announced
a planned price increase of €30/tonne for general purpose polystyrene (GPPS) and high-impact polystyrene (HIPS) materials. However,
a slow recovery in demand meant that GPPS
prices slipped back a little despite supply disruptions. The surcharge for HIPS mostly remained at €85-100/tonne even after the small
increase of €25/tonne in the cost of butadiene.
Supply was adequate despite the plant
maintenance turnarounds and material availability was more than adequate
to meet the overall weak level of demand
during September.
A much hoped for topping-up of inventories failed to materialize early September as
converters returned to work after the holiday season. Demand recovered at a much
slower rate than expected.

PET
European PET prices softened further during
the first three weeks of September as a result
of dwindling demand, good material availability
from local producers and competitively-priced
imports. The cost position was unclear at time
of writing as the September paraxylene contract price had not been settled. The September monoethylene glycol contract indicated a
€33/tonne increase from the previous month.
European production lines ran largely
without interruption and there was more
than sufficient material available from local
producers. A growing tide of competitively-priced imports from the Far East proved
attractive to European buyers. Maintenance
at a number of larger PET production plants
could lead to some supply restrictions in October and November.
Beverage bottle demand is slowing down
as summer draws to a close while the outlook is still clouded by uncertainty caused
by the pandemic.
September/October 2020

Sustainable Plastics - September/October 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Sustainable Plastics - September/October 2020