After 108 years, our very own Chicago Cubs finally won the World Series, writes Chicago-based Plastics Exchange in its weekly Market Update. While not quite as rare, it also foresees a price decrease for polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) contracts in November. And that’s something we can all cheer about, even if you live in Cleveland.
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Spot resin trading was good the first week of November. It was a bit busier than expected, with transacted volumes healthy and well-spread among PE and PP grades, reports the PlasticsExchange. Material offerings were considered high and resin prices continued to slide as negative sentiment took a tighter grip on the market. There was an uptick in Asian demand and pricing, but workable levels generally remain below Houston offers. A market-wide decrease in both PE and PP contracts for November shipments is anticipated.Â
The PE market continued under pressure, with fresh offerings on the high side and beginning to accumulate. The spot market is not necessarily flooded with resin, but bids have backed off, creating a large spread between suppliers’ asking prices and levels to which buyers will commit. Most HDPE grades slid another cent; LDPE film grades saw some of their premium erode. Several producers reduced their November PE contracts by $0.03/lb, right in line with our thoughts from several weeks back, writes the PlasticsExchange.Â
Tis the season to unload uncommitted resin. In addition to the normal flow of offers the resin clearinghouse receives every day from its trading partners, several national resellers have submitted large lists of warehoused material they wish to move. This is indicative of their belief that market prices are still heading lower and also to reduce inventories to exploit holiday specials, which often appear between Thanksgiving and the New Year. With spot now off around a nickel on average, there are already some good deals hitting the market.Â
Spot PP activity was solid. A steady stream of resin offers and buyer requests kept the PlasticsExchange trading desk on its toes. PP prices continued to slip and another cent came out of the Generic Prime market this past week, with deeper discounts again seen for off grade. PP prices have fallen to new season lows and most grades are readily available in railcars and packaged truckloads. Myriad pricing levels are seen in the contract market, given the variety of indices and monomer components. However, the folks over at PlasticsExchange believe prime prices, on average, will decline around $0.05/lb for November.
Read the full Market Update on the PlasticsExchange website.
