Polypropylene spot price was assessed at Eur1,190/mt FD NWE for homopolymer, unchanged on the day. The market however braced for a Eur20-50/mt increase in June.
European polypropylene producers looked to Turkey, Africa and India as areas of improved arbitrage opportunities.
“There will be a better opportunity to export to Turkey. Iran sanctions mean that Turkish companies are more cautious about taking this material. This is good for European suppliers,” a trader said.
Europe’s foreign trade of PET, PVC, PS and ABS has also been affected, either via a reduction in volumes or in the form of rising prices.
“PVC enjoyed a very strange stability over the past four months. Raw materials went up, but PVC was steady, because euro/dollar exchange rate meant a lot of material was coming to Europe as it was the highest-priced region globally. Next month prices will go up because euro is weaker and naphtha is rising,” a trader said.
PVC spot prices were assessed stable week on week at Eur920/mt FD NWE.
Imports of styrenics from Asia into Europe are expected to remain uncompetitive on a combination of the unfavorable exchange rate and expensive feedstocks in Asia.
In PET, where there is currently an acute shortage following a force-majeure at JBF plant in Geel, Belgium, there is little resupply available from other regions either. PET prices rose Eur60/mt to Eur1,270/mt Wednesday, the highest level in over five years.
–Maria Tsay, maria.tsay@spglobal.com
–Edited by James Leech, james.leech@spglobal.com