Recently, there has been some turmoil in the market, caused by actions taken by the White House administration and reactions from China and the European Union. Market participants closely followed the changing situation regarding tariffs. On April 10, President Trump announced a 90-day tariff deferral for all countries, except China. However, the 10% tariff on exports to the USA still applied to all countries. In response to these actions, the European Union announced retaliatory measures against the USA. As a result of these changes, many market participants were unsure whether to place orders for polyethylene from the USA or to postpone their decision.
As a result, converters received fewer orders for their finished products, leading to a reduced demand for polyethylene. Some of them had stockpiles that would last at least until the end of the month.
- Demand for HDPE was generally low - many traders complained about poor sales and the fact that customers mostly inquired about prices rather than placing orders. However, several traders noted increased demand for material for pipe production and rotomolding;
- At the beginning of the month, some HDPE producers tried to maintain their prices, but under pressure from converters, they were forced to lower them;
- Contradictory information was coming from the LDPE market - most traders complained about weak demand from converters, although some sold large quantities of material at high prices, above the market average Demand for this type of polyethylene dropped compared to the previous month;
- Market participants are looking for alternatives to American LLDPE, which was abundant on the market - as a result, some traders started talking about a potential material shortage;
- The most frequent buyers of LLDPE are film and packaging manufacturers.
