Polymerupdate European resin pricing, June 22-26: PP, LDPE, LLDPE, PS, ABS, and PVC climb; PET steady

, with homopolymer injection molding grades reaching €855/tonne FD Northwest Europe and copolymer prices hitting €895/tonne FD Northwest Europe. PP producers polled by Polymerupdate reported settling their June contracts €50/tonne above May, and looking forward, July contract price targets would be higher on firming propylene feedstock and limited PP availability. Spot PP prices also surged last week, with homopolymer prices at €810/tonne FD Northwest Europe, up €60/tonne, with copolymer prices climbing to €860/tonne FD Northwest Europe. A PP producer contacted by Polymerupdate said July propylene contracts settled €85/tonne above June’s settlements at €650/tonne FD Northwest Europe. For its part, LyondellBasell announced a €125/tonne increase in its PP rates, while Ineos pushed an increase of €120/tonne for July PP. In plant news, Dow plans to temporarily shut its Wesseling, Germany PP plant, taking 230,000 tonnes/yr offline before the end of the month with propylene availability already tight.

Low-density polyethylene (LDPE) spot prices rose, as general-purpose LDPE contracts held steady at €920/tonne FD Germany, €915/tonne FD Italy, and €910/tonne FD France. Spot LDPE gained on stronger ethylene, increased buying interest, and tight regional availability. Spot LDPE hit €905/tonne FD Northwest Europe, compared to €880/tonne FD Northwest Europe a week earlier. An LDPE buyer contacted by Polymerupdate said that in reality, it’s difficult to find LDPE offers below €940 to €950/tonne FD Northwest Europe, with supplies severely pinched by outages at as many as seven LDPE lines in Northwest Europe, Eastern Europe, and the Mediterranean. Looking forward, LDPE producers have been heard considering July contract prices of €1000/tonne FD. In Turkey, local producer Petkim has hiked its LDPE prices by $80/tonne to $1285/tonne FCA Aliaga. July ethylene contracts are pushing the market higher, closing €80/tonne higher than June at €785/tonne FD Northwest Europe for July.

Linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) prices in Europe rose, with contracts at €910/tonne FD Northwest Europe and spot prices hitting €880/tonne FD Northwest Europe. LLDPE gains were triggered by strength in upstream ethylene, with July’s ethylene contract price settlement of €785/tonne FD Northwest Europe up €80/tonne from the week prior. Looking forward, PE producers are targeting hikes of €100 to €150/tonne July.

Polystyrene (PS) contract prices settled higher, with general-purpose PS at €1055/tonne FD Northwest Europe, up €20/tonne from €1035/tonne FD a week earlier. High-impact PS contracts finished at €1100/tonne FD, up from €1080/tonne FD Northwest Europe a week earlier. For July, PS producers are unwilling to face any further margin erosions and appear determined to pass along all gains in styrene monomer (SM). In the spot market, general-purpose PS prices were flat at €900/tonne FD Northwest Europe, while high-impact PS prices were assessed at €945/tonne FD Northwest Europe.

Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) contract prices settled higher at €1250/tonne FD Northwest Europe. The contract settlement represented an increase of €10/tonne, with ABS prices rising in line with stronger feedstock. SM and acrylonitrile (ACN) were firmer, along with strength in propylene.

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) recorded steep gains in the contract and spot markets, with FD Germany suspension-grade contract prices at €800/tonne and FD Italy prices at €805/tonne. In the spot market, Northwest Europe FD PVC prices rose to between €650 and €680/tonne. European PVC producers have announced increases ranging from €100 to €130/tonne for the month of July, citing gains in ethylene, ethylene dichloride (EDC), and vinyl chlorine monomer (VCM).

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) June prices were rolled over from May levels by some buyers in Europe, with increases seen elsewhere. Bottle-grade PET contract prices were assessed at €1170/tonne FD Northwest Europe, with spot prices at €940/tonne FD Northwest Europe. Buyers that claim to have rolled over May rates for June paid €1000/tonne FD Northwest Europe. Weak demand coupled with ample availability favored buyers and pushed struggling PET sellers to drop offers. In plant news, Artenius’ 100,000-tonnes/yr PET plant in Spain remains shut down due to technical issues, extending its idling to three weeks. —[email protected]