Polyethylene

The industry has still not managed to pull itself from its vale of tears, with production, demand and consumption all weak. Like producers, converters are sensing little spring joy, and the eagerly awaited stock-building activities are simply not happening. Buyers are ordering only what they absolutely need – due not least to the fact that the overall price level has risen, with the ethylene reference...

In the past few months, PE prices have been falling almost continuously – a trend that also continued into January. Led by the significant fall in the cost of the monomer in the ethylene contract (down €95/$102 a tonne), PE prices frequently saw reductions in the high, double-digit range. Across the whole PE range, demand actually picked up a little. Some producers succeeded again in factoring...