China’s PE market remains on bearish note amid subdued demand

Nov. 14, 2018

In China, the decreasing trend in the PE market, which has been in place since mid-October, permeated the market for another week. Players mainly blamed the weak stance of demand for the ongoing decreases both in local and import prices.


Ample overseas supplies and the weak energy complex have also added to falling PE prices. ChemOrbis Price Wizard shows that the weekly average of crude oil prices has recently hit a nine-month low after posting decreases for six consecutive weeks.


Lower futures prices were also cited as another factor putting pressure on the market. LLDPE futures on the Dalian Commodity Exchange posted a weekly decrease of CNY150/ton ($22/ton) as of November 13.


A trader opined, “PE prices are moving further down this week. The ongoing decreases in crude oil futures and softer futures prices continued to hamper buying interest. We expect the PE market to remain on the soft side in the near term.”


In terms of demand, the volatility in the Chinese yuan in the midst of the lingering trade tension with the US continues to keep buyers on the sidelines while the approaching year-end pushes traders to focus on depleting their stocks.


Another trader commented, “Demand from China is quite stagnant nowadays. We think PE prices are unlikely to display a rebound in the upcoming days in the face of weaker crude oil futures, concerns over parity issues along with thin buying activities.”


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