Plastics News Europe - September 2019 - 40

polymer prices

petrochemical feedstock contract prices september 2018-August 2019 (€/tonne)
sept

oct

Nov

Dec

Jan

Feb

mar

Apr

may

June

July

change
Aug July/Aug

ethylene

1135

1145

1135

1025

985

1015

1045

1075

1000

1010

propylene

1135

1070

1060

960

925

950

970

990

910

styrene

1135

1310

1140

990

975

995

1042

994

1027

602

638

677

805

benzene
paraxylene

1055 1152.5 1185

733

777

693

542

485

497

558

640

1170

1138

1060

960

925

960

995

*PX contract price not yet settled at time of writing

680

907.5 812.5

Source: Plastics News Europe

l/
l
D
p
e

The €10/tonne increase for the August ethylene settlement
surprised market players amid widespread expectations for a
drop in the ethylene contract price with spot notations falling. However, naphtha costs increased by about 5% in July
and the very hot weather in large parts of Europe meant that
crackers were in part unable to run at full capacity due to
limitations in cooling.
Some L/LDPE producers applied the €10/ton increases on

their L/LDPE offers in the contract market. However, most
deals were conducted on the basis of a weak rollover from
the previous month as a result of low trading activity during
the holiday season. Sellers were hopeful of a demand pickup
towards the end of the month.
Material availability was still on the high side during August but producers' stocks were moving towards more normal
levels.

H
D
p
e

The €10/tonne increase for the August ethylene settlement
surprised market players amid widespread expectations for a
drop in the ethylene contract price with spot notations falling.
However, naphtha costs increased by about 5% in July and the
very hot weather in large parts of Europe meant that crackers
were in part unable to run at full capacity due to limitations in
cooling.
Some HDPE producers applied the €10/ton increases on

their HDPE offers in the contract market. However, most deals
were conducted on the basis of a weak rollover from the previous month as a result of low trading activity during the holiday
season. Sellers were hopeful of a demand pickup towards the
end of the month.
Material availability for HDPE was at more normal levels
compared with L/LDPE and special offers were available from
some producers.

p
p

Following the €80/tonne fall of the July propylene reference
price, the European C3 contract price for August was fixed with a
rollover at €910/tonne. In August, the European propylene market was in better balance with production returning to normal
after the end of the maintenance season.
Polypropylene prices followed the stable feedstock costs with
rollovers being the norm and no particular impetus was evident
for significant price movement.

Demand remained on the low side with many converters away
on holiday, particularly in Southern Europe. In July, some buyers
purchased more than they needed due to the sharp price reductions, which further held back demand last month.
Supply was at normal levels although there was evidence of
special offers becoming available for homopolymer material as
the month progressed, which started to put some downward
pressure on prices.

p
s

The August styrene monomer (SM) reference price settled €33/
tonne higher compared to the previous month at €1,027/tonne.
The SM cost increase reflected feedstock cost increases for benzene
of €39/tonne and €10/tonne for ethylene.
Most polystyrene sellers announced plans to raise prices by
more than the SM reference price, but buyers were not prepared
to comply. Contract negotiations for general-purpose polystyrene and high-impact polystyrene products were mostly settled

in line with the SM rise.
PS supply was more than sufficient despite production cutbacks
over recent months. Most plants ran without interruption with
maintenance turnarounds only scheduled to start late summer.
In August, demand remained low, especially in Southern Europe, as a result of the holiday season. The economic slowdown
across Europe was another factor. Converters were also holding
back from purchasing in anticipation of further price cuts.

p
V
c

In August, the pro-rata cost of S-PVC base resin went up by €5/
tonne as a result of the €10/tonne increase in ethylene costs.
However, PVC sellers found it difficult to raise prices in line with
the increase in their cost base due to low demand. S-PVC base
prices therefore remained largely unchanged against the previous month. For unplasticised PVC compounds, titanium dioxide
costs increased during the third quarter and modifier costs were
also up. For plasticised PVC compounds, plasticiser prices have

come down.
Demand was low during August and slower than the same
period last year. Most converters were shut down for summer
holidays and several producers conducted maintenance shutdowns. Concerns over global economic growth also held back
order intake.
Most plants operated as normal while plant outages in France
and Hungary did not lead to shortages.

p
e
T

PET prices have fallen sharply since June due to over-supply
and low demand but were a little calmer in August. The August feedstock reference prices for paraxylene had not settled
at time of writing but monoethylene glycol prices fell slightly.
With market sentiment predicting fairly stable costs, most PET
contracts settled showing either a small drop or a weak rollover compared to the previous month
The return of hot summer weather from mid-July onward

led to a much needed upturn in demand for beverages, and
hence PET bottles. However, the PET demand upturn was reportedly not quite as brisk as that experienced during summer
2018.
The European PET market remained well supplied in August
despite producers' attempts to curtail production levels. Asian
imports were still evident, but not as competitively priced as in
previous months.

september 2019

Plastics News Europe - September 2019

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