Braskem issues second September price hike on all PE grades sold in Brazil – Braskem September price PE Brazil - Arhive

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Braskem issues second September price hike on all PE grades sold in Brazil

Houston (Platts)-

Braskem September price PE Brazil Brazilian petrochemical producer Braskem has raised for the second time this month domestic prices on all polyethylene grades, a company source said Friday.

Braskem is boosting prices on all PE sold in Brazil by about Real 150/mt (around $48/mt), effective September 18, the source said. It comes on the heels of Braskem raising PE prices by Real 300/mt (around $96/mt) September 1. Increases include Brazilian PIS and COFINS taxes.

Braskem’s domestic polypropylene pricing, meanwhile, is remaining stable, the source said. Braskem raised prices on PP sold in Brazil by around Real 250-300/mt (around $80-$96/mt) to begin September.

Fellow South American producer Dow Chemical also has raised prices on PE sold in Latin America this month, according to multiple letters to customers that S&P Global Platts obtained.

Regional increases come on extremely limited availability of US-origin resins in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, affecting production and logistics along the US Gulf Coast.

The US has for much of 2017 served as primary source of overseas imported resins for South American buyers, with competitive prices and quick delivery windows at times putting pressure on regional producer pricing. After Harvey made landfall August 25, South American buyers increasingly have had to turn to Asia and the Middle East for imports, resulting in higher prices. Overall, spot import PE pricing in Brazil has risen 9.3% to 12.1% from pre-Harvey levels August 23.

Domestic Brazilian PE prices, in turn, have risen 5.8% to 6.1% during the same period, with Braskem previously citing “changes in international resin prices” when implementing the September 1 increase of Real 300/mt.

Platts last assessed domestic Brazilian PE prices Wednesday at Real 5,500/mt for LDPE; Real 5,300/mt for LLDPE; Real 5,450/mt for HDPE injection; Real 5,200/mt for HDPE blowmolding; and Real 5,250/mt for HDPE film.

All assessments were stable week on week and are made on a delivered Sao Paulo basis.

–Phillipe Craig, phillipe.craig@spglobal.com

–Edited by Valarie Jackson, valarie.jackson@spglobal.com