Buyers were fairly active again, finding value in the cheaper resin, while some Southeast processors began filling short-term supply gaps caused by Hurricane Florence.
Activity was muted in the spot resin markets during the Labor Day–shortened week. However, the PlasticsExchange (Chicago) recommends maintaining ample inventories as potentially disruptive weather systems heat up in the Gulf.
Activity in the spot resin markets slowed down the final week of August, though there were some good spurts that helped solidify a strong month in terms of trading and volume, reports the PlasticsExchange (Chicago) in its Market Update.
Additional production at new facilities in the Middle East will not be sufficient to cover 2018 losses caused by maintenance shutdowns, according to a new report from IHS Markit (London).
The overall polyethylene (PE) market could continue to move lower, as material slated for China seeks to find new homes because of the 25% Chinese tariffs and upstream inventories swell further, according to the PlasticsExchange (Chicago).
The 25% Chinese tariffs on high-density polyethylene (PE) and linear-low-density PE, which are scheduled to be implemented on Aug. 23, have really begun to disrupt the market, particularly in Houston, the major resin export hub.
Milliken and Co. (Spartanburg, SC) is featured in the first installment of a series centered on a proliferation of polyethylene and polypropylene resin and additive products for packaging from major suppliers.
Polyethylene (PE) pricing was heavily pressured last week, as a revised list of retaliatory tariffs levied by China targeted many of the resins produced by new PE capacity.
A combination of massive upstream supplies and tariff-related uncertainty weighed on the Houston market, with low-density and linear-low-density polyethylene for film weakening by as much as $0.02/lb.
