European producers of LLDPE and LDPE plan to increase prices next month in line with the rise in ethylene costs. Given the recent rise in oil prices, it is forecasted that ethylene costs will rise by €35/t; however, the situation may change next week. According to Chem-Courier, ethylene prices are expected to increase by €20-25/t in August.
Chem-Courier reported this week that freight rates have peaked and shipping expenses in August may remain unchanged.
The Hungarian PE producer might face a challenging situation. Due to the tightening of Ukrainian sanctions on the Russian oil supplier Lukoil, the pipeline supplying materials for LDPE and HDPE production has been shut down. If the Hungarian government does not resolve the issues soon, Europe may face a shortage of the aforementioned products.
PE
- Some European market players claim they have experienced good demand for HDPE this month, while others report average demand, with minimal interest in injection-moulding HDPE;
- The shortage of Egyptian-origin material in Poland has been compounded by the closure of order books by some European producers;
- One of the largest European producers, plans to carry out maintenance on its production lines starting in August. However, there may soon be issues with the availability of materials from Russian Lukoil due to the pipeline closure;
- The Polish market has been experiencing a shortage of LDPE MFI=0,3,
- Some European producers have closed their LDPE order books;
- Last week, the US producer announced the closure of all its production lines in the US due to Hurricane Beryl, but production has resumed this week.
PP
- The Polish PP producer continues to engage in market dumping. According to market players, has a surplus of goods;
- Although unofficially confirmed, FM at plant in Belgium has ended. Players report that the product is already entering the market;
- Players note that demand for copolymers has been higher than for homopolymers;
- Market participants report significant delays in deliveries from South Korean producers.
