Market activity remained subdued in end-March. Converters insisted on price reductions, leading traders and manufacturers to make concessions due to low demand. As previously reported by Chem-Courier, special offers on PP raffia began to emerge as early as in mid-March. Information about successful negotiations for discounts on PE started to surface a little later. The discount for LDPE, LLDPE and mLLDPE the previous week could have been around €40-60/t.
There was a shortage of European and imported origin goods in March. It is worth noting that in Q1, there were planned and unplanned LDPE production shutdowns at various European-based facilities. However, players claimed that there was enough inventory to meet demand. The situation with PP copolymer looked similar, whereas with PP raffia the situation was reversed with a surplus observed.
Imported material began to arrive in Europe, including Poland. Its price was similar to the European products quotes in March. USA-origin polymer deliveries are expected in April.
The average price for European HDPE ranges from €1,250/t to €1,300/t. Players claim that there is a surplus of this material in the market. The average price for European PP raffia is €1,300-1,350/t. However, this material could be purchased with a discount of up to €80/t. More information on prices can be found in the Chem-Courier’s Polski Tygodnik Poliolefin report.
Forecasting the situation in April, the sentiment among market players is mixed. Some are more positive, while others are less so. There are factors that could influence both price increases and decreases. One factor that could lead to price growth is the rising price of monomers. Based on the rise in raw material price, polyolefin manufacturers will attempt to raise polyolefin quotes in early April. Presumably, the increase will be similar to that of monomers. However, due to further low demand, polyolefin rates may decrease in mid-April. Furthermore, a surge in the imported materials volume, which traders may begin to offer at reduced valuation due to sluggish demand, could also play a role. Manufacturer quotations announcement may come later this month due to Easter holidays.
