Sustainable Plastics - November/December 2023 - 30

polymer prices
European petrochemical feedstock contract prices August to November 2023 (€/tonne)
AUG
SEPT
Ethylene
Propylene
Styrene
Benzene
Paraxylene*
L/LDPE
In October, L/LDPE suppliers approached
the market with a larger increase than the
€65/tonne rise for the ethylene contract in
an attempt to bolster under pressure margins.
Producers successfully implemented
significant price increases with L/LDPE contracts
settling close to triple-digit gains. This
reflected tight supply because of reduced
run rates and limited availability of competitively
priced imports. However, processors
are not rushing to buy due to the unsatisfactory
demand from their customers.
L/LDPE prices softened a little during
the first week of November following a €45/
tonne decline in the ethylene reference price.
The full cost reduction was not, however,
factored into most early contract settlements
because of short supply, although converters
are pushing for further price concessions
during annual supply discussions. Market
fundamentals remain largely unchanged;
producers are maintaining tight control of
production; demand remains very subdued.
HDPE
HDPE prices closed October with gains
above the €65/tonne increase for the ethylene
contract price. Blow moulding and
blown film prices were up by €80/tonne
with injection moulding prices up by €70/
tonne. HDPE supply remained well balanced
as reduced output and lower availability
of competitively priced imports were
closely aligned to the low level of demand.
A demand upturn failed to materialise because
of the unsatisfactory order intake
from end markets.
HDPE prices followed the lead set by
the reduction in feedstock costs during the
first week of November. The price for most
HDPE product tended to fall by an amount
close to the €45/tonne reduction for the
ethylene reference price. Output from local
producers remains significantly restricted
yet overall availability continued to be supported
by imports. The current weak demand
situation is unlikely to improve before
the end of the year.
30
November/December 2023
In October, PVC producers approached the
market with planned price increases well
above the €32.5/tonne pro-rata increase
in the cost of ethylene in order to avoid a
further erosion to their profit margins. However,
demand remained very sluggish, and,
in particular, there was a lack of new orders
from the construction sector. Low demand
levels restricted the producers' planned
price hikes; base PVC prices increased
by €20-25/tonne; PVC compound prices
were up by €10/tonne. Weakening export
prices and the possible emergence of competitively
priced imports also restrained
planned price increases last month.
Base PVC prices turned downward
during the first week of November following
a reduction of €45/tonne for the ethylene
reference price. There is still plenty
of material available despite continued
restrictions on production. Demand is unlikely
to show any significant improvement
during the rest of the year.
1120
1000
1405
800
1040
1195
1060
1575
841
1090
PP
In October, PP prices registered good gains
as producers pushed for price hikes in excess
of the €60/tonne propylene cost rise
in order to restore their profit margins. However,
most PP contracts settled close to the
increase in the cost of propylene. Supply
tightened as producers trimmed their operating
rates even further; imported material
was also less widely available. Meanwhile,
demand remained low due to a lack of purchasing
activity in upstream markets and a
reluctance by processors to add more material
to their well-stocked warehouses.
PP prices fell in line with the €40/tonne
reduction in the propylene reference price
during the first week of November. Material
availability remains tight because
of low production rates and a series of
planned and unplanned plant outages.
Imports are, however, likely to be more
widely available this month.
PVC
OCT
1260
1120
1635
1073
1040
NOV
1215
1080
1486
925
1040
CHANGE OCT/NOV
€/tonne
-45
-40
-149
-148
Note: *Contract is fixed retroactively at the end of each month. November contract price not settled at time of writing. Source: Sustainable Plastics
PS
PS producers announced planned price
hikes of between €80-90/tonne at the beginning
of October, which was in excess
of the €60/tonne increase for the styrene
monomer reference price. PS producers
were largely successful in raising contract
prices by a similar level to the cost rise.
While the limitations on styrene availability
has eased, producers continue to
operate polystyrene production plants at
reduced operating rates. Meanwhile, demand
remains subdued due to a lack of
end user stimuli.
In November, the styrene monomer reference
cost increased by a large amount, up
by €149/tonne, following a sharp reduction
in spot styrene monomer prices over the
previous few weeks. PS producers initially
announced planned price decreases of
€125/tonne. In early November, few deals
had been concluded, but the market consensus
view held that contracts would likely
settle below the cost rise.
PET
In October, PET producers initially targeted
price increases in excess of the rise in feedstock
costs to restore their margins. There
was a wide range of contract settlements;
from a rollover to triple-digit increases, depending
on the starting level. Overall, PET
prices were up on average by €30-35/tonne
during the month as a whole. Persistent
demand weakness restricted the planned
price hikes. On the supply side, plant closures
and output restrictions kept a brake
on material availability.
In November, PET prices are likely to
fall following a decrease of €50/tonne for
the October paraxylene reference price.
The extent of any such PET price reduction
is likely to be at a level close to the
cost reduction. Demand is expected to
remain very subdued for the remainder
of the year while material availability continues
to be swelled by the presence of
Asian imports.

Sustainable Plastics - November/December 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Sustainable Plastics - November/December 2023