Plastics News Europe - October 2019 - 52

polymer prices

petrochemical feedstock contract prices october 2018-september 2019 (€/tonne)
oct

Nov

Dec

Jan

Feb

mar

Apr

may

June

July

Aug

change
sept Aug/sept

ethylene

1145

1135

1025

985

985

1015

1045

1075

1075

1000

1010

970

-40

Propylene

1070

1060

960

925

925

950

970

990

990

910

910

860

-50

Styrene

1310

1140

990

975

995

1042

994

1027

1086

59

benzene

777

693

542

485

497

558

640

602

638

677

760

83

1138

1060

960

925

960

995

995

805

765

765*

0

Paraxylene

1055 1152.5 1185

*PX contract price not yet settled at time of writing

680

907.5 812.5

Source: Plastics News Europe

l/
l
D
p
e

Initially, L/LDPE suppliers considered asking for price increases
of up to €50/tonne for September. However, following the
€40/tonne reduction in the ethylene reference price any such
hopes producers had for a price hike quickly faded. Instead,
their focus was on retaining as much of the cost fall as possible. Tightening supply and better demand meant that the cost
reduction was not passed on in full. L/LDPE prices fell in average by €35/tonne.

Material availability shortened due to outages at several facilities in North-western Europe and the upcoming autumn
plant maintenance season. Meanwhile, LLDPE imports remained lower than expected.
Demand was slightly improved compared with the previous
month as a result of the holiday period coming to an end and
an upturn in seasonal business. However, September business
was much slacker than would normally be expected.

H
D
p
e

HDPE suppliers also planned to raise prices at the beginning
of September. However, following a reduction of €40/tonne
for the September ethylene reference price any such hopes
producers had for a price hike quickly faded. Instead, their
focus was on retaining as much of the cost fall as possible.
Tightening supply and slightly improved demand meant that
the cost reduction was not passed on in full for blown film
and blow moulding product. Injection moulding prices fell in

line with costs mainly as a result of import pressure.
Material availability shortened due to outages at several
facilities and the upcoming autumn plant maintenance season.
Demand was slightly improved compared with the previous month as a result of the holiday period coming to an
end and an upturn in seasonal business, but was quieter
than usual.

p
p

The September propylene reference price fell €50/tonne reflecting lower naphtha costs. PP producers were determined
to improve their margins by not passing on the cost reduction
in full to customers. Despite low demand, planned and unplanned supply restrictions at cracker and PP production
plants helped their cause. PP prices fell on average during
September by around €30/tonne compared with the previous
month.

PP supply is shortening as a result of present and upcoming plant maintenance programmes and force majeure being
called at several European PP production plants.
Demand failed to pick up noticeably as would normally be
expected after the summer holiday period came to an end.
Weak end use demand meant there was no pressure on converters to rebuild stocks and they were mostly prepared to sit
back and wait to see what happens.

p
s

For September, the styrene monomer (SM) reference price continued on an upward trend following a sharp rise in the cost of benzene, and to a lesser extent, ethylene. Some PS producers announced planned price hikes for general-purpose PS of €70/
tonne to improve their margins. However, given poor demand
and good supply, producers were forced to offer small price concessions and increase prices by less than the €59/tonne rise in the
SM costs. The premium for high impact-resistant (HIPS) material

remained at €90-100/tonne despite a reduction in the cost of
butadiene.
There was sufficient material available in the market to meet
demand. However, one producer reported production problems
and was only delivering to regular customers.
Demand disappointed in September with many processors
only ordering what was absolutely necessary in the hope of a cut
in October.

p
V
c

In September, ethylene, a key component of the PVC cost base,
settled €40/tonne lower against the previous months' contract
price. PVC producers hoped to broaden their profit margin by
restricting price rebates to less than the proportionate €20/
tonne reduction in their cost base. However, a combination of
good supply and weak demand forced them to pass on the ethylene cost reduction to processors in full.
Several European PVC plants have been undergoing mainte-

nance work, but supply shortages have not been reported. However, the upcoming cracker maintenance season which could
lead to outages in C2 production are an ongoing source of uncertainty.
The seasonal PVC demand upturn following the end of the
holiday period was much milder than anticipated. Construction
sector order intake was weaker than over the same period last
year due to the economic slowdown.

p
e
T

September paraxylene and monoethylene glycol contract prices
had not yet settled at time of writing. However, prices were expected to rise following a surge in crude oil prices after the
drone strikes on the Saudi Arabian refinery, and a rebound in
Chinese demand. Given the uncertainty about price development freely-negotiated monthly contracts for bottle-grade PET
varied widely; from a rollover to an increase of €30/tonne for
small volume business.

Demand from end markets remained subdued last month
despite the return from holiday and rising temperatures. Processors had little incentive to buy with well-stocked warehouses.
PET producers continued to restrict production in order to
avoid excessive stock levels developing. However, there is still a
steady supply a competitive import offers from Asia. Planned
maintenance work will begin at PET plants in Spain and Lithuania during September.

52

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Plastics News Europe - October 2019

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