According to data from ChemOrbis Price Wizard, spot prices on a CIF SEA, cash equivalent basis lost $22/ton for LDPE film and $48/ton for LLDPE film from their mid-November high points to the end of last week. A Southeast Asian processor told the pricing service that it had sold out most of its December allocation for LDPE film to regional markets at prices $20-50/ton below the company's initial offer levels for the month. The processor said that it conceded to these price reductions after its initial offers met with little interest from buyers.

The largest discounts were given in the Vietnamese market, as demand from Vietnam is relatively weaker than demand in other countries within the region. A global producer reported that it concluded some deals for Middle Eastern LLDPE film with discounts of $10-20/ton from its initial offer levels for the month, and also said it lowered their prices in order to overcome buyers' resistance.
 
Inside the region, an Indonesian processor began the week by announcing a $50/ton reduction on its prices for LLDPE film, pointing to lower prices in the import market as the main reason for the price reductions. Meanwhile, distributors in Vietnam report that they slashed their offers for locally-held LLDPE film by $132-141/ton in hopes of spurring greater buying interest, adding that they are struggling to secure deals in spite of the fact that most locally-held import material has already been re-exported to other markets such as Myanmar and China.
  
While sellers have been pressured to agree to price reductions in order to speed up their sales, most sellers nevertheless commented that they are not planning to concede to any major price decreases at the present given firmer upstream costs as well as relatively limited availability.  Spot ethylene prices on a CFR SEA basis have gained $30/ton since the start of the month while crude oil and naphtha prices are also hovering at high levels. In addition, some concerns have arisen that supplies may begin to tighten once more on news that ExxonMobil has had to shut its 600,000-tons/year PE plant in Singapore due to mechanical issues at the plant.