A monthly review of European polymer prices, provided by Plastics Information Europe, part of the KI.PIE Group
Standard thermoplastics
- Prices mostly stable amid weak year-end demand
- Ample supply and low expectations into 2026
- Little hope for early recovery
Standard recyclate
- Ample stock and little demand
- Short production month reveals market glut
- Companies closed early before Christmas
POLYETHYLENE
For the most part, converters found it easy to resist producers’ attempts to push through price increases. Negotiations often resulted in price stability, reflecting the rollover in the ethylene contract price as well as the lack of orders. Import volumes continue to prevent the market from rebalancing, despite ongoing cutbacks at European plants.
As is typical at year-end, many converters shut down their production lines after mid-month and began with maintenance work and stocktaking. In quite a few cases, parts of the workforce were sent on Christmas leave early. The question on everyone’s mind now is: how are things going to go in 2026?
While the large packaging segment continues to provide a fairly stable supply of orders, nearly all converters prefer to purchase the material they need at the very last minute and at the lowest possible prices. This is intended to give them an edge over domestic competitors and to at least partially keep pace with low-priced Asian imports.
However, the prospects of achieving this are poor. A recovery in demand in the first half of the year is not expected. Prices are therefore likely to depend primarily on how effectively producers maintain control over supply.
POLYPROPYLENE
Some players will probably be pleased that 2025 is over. At least at the negotiating tables every effort was made to quickly finalise the monthly discussions for December. The contracts often followed the lead of the precursor, propylene, and kept prices at the previous month’s level. Those that still bought material usually did so in order to achieve certain quantities for their annual bonus – and only in return for further price concessions.
As is usual at the end of the year, producers and processors were keen to reduce their inventory levels in order to bolster their balance sheets. The market for homopolymer grades was clearly oversupplied.
The oversupply of copolymer grades and compounds was not quite as noticeable.
The outlook for 2026 is still bleak in many places. Only optimists expect an improvement in the near future. However, the fact that the propylene contract for January fell by €30($35)/t is likely to result in further price adjustments, albeit not to the full extent of the monomer reduction. As a result, the mood is likely to improve slightly, at least among processors.
PVC
The development in PVC prices largely followed feedstock ethylene. As a result, the monthly PVC contract was fixed at a rollover. There was little else to negotiate for December, and attention quickly shifted to the annual contract discussions for 2026.
Supply was more than sufficient, with demand running at a very low level as the year drew to a close. The year-end period was nevertheless marked by an unpleasant surprise – the announcement of the insolvency of resin supplier Vynova Wilhelmshaven.
This development inevitably forced a number of converters to reorient themselves once again during the course of their annual negotiations. It also dampened the mood among those that had already concluded agreements with alternative suppliers.
The insolvency once again underscores the current precarious state of the European PVC industry. Against this backdrop, producers are likely to attempt to avoid passing on the €25($29)/t reduction in ethylene prices in January, particularly as the new starting prices for 2026 already represent a downward adjustment.
STYRENICS
The eight-month downward trend in styrenics prices came to an end in December. After the styrene reference increased for the first time in a long while in the year-end month (up €21($24)/t), prices for polystyrene (PS) and expanded PS (EPS) also trended up slightly.
Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) prices only managed a (in some cases strong) rollover, as the decline in the cost of butadiene (down €40($47)/t) outweighed the acrylonitrile (ACN) cost increase (up €20($23)/t).
All in all, demand for styrenics remained weak in December. Although orders for PS were not quite as bad as expected, demand for ABS and EPS still had plenty of room for improvement.
The sluggish economy was compounded by the low number of production days, as many companies took extended factory holidays. In addition, many processors were reluctant to build up stocks for balance-sheet reasons. In January, prices for PS and EPS are likely to edge up again, following another modest increase in the styrene contract price (again up €21/t).
ABS, however, is likely to roll over again, as declines in butadiene (down €20/t) and ACN (down €36($42)/t) offset the upward trend of styrene. In view of the ample supply situation, slight reductions cannot be ruled out either.
There are several aspects that should support styrenics prices as the year progresses. For PS, this includes the consolidation of production capacity. While imports are continuing to rise, the closure of two production facilities, in France and Germany, should nevertheless reduce the existing oversupply.
EPS, meanwhile, could benefit from growing signs that the long dry spell in residential construction is coming to an end. However, it will probably be some time before the rising number of building permits is reflected in demand for EPS.
For ABS, European suppliers are likely to benefit from the fact that the European Commission is considering setting the final anti-dumping tariffs on materials from South Korea at a higher level than the provisional punitive tariffs currently in place. A decision on this is expected in February.
PET
As expected, little happened on the European PET market in December. Demand continued to be weak, with business running at a correspondingly sluggish pace. Everyone had long since turned their attention to the new year.
All in all, the situation led to cautious rollovers in an overwhelming majority of cases. No one is expecting a significant upturn at the start of the year. The prevailing attitude is one of wait and see. In the interests of security of supply, large-scale consumers report that they are considering providing selective support for European production on strategic grounds.
The economic situation is therefore increasingly being factored into the calculations of the companies operating here – a highly interesting and presumably unavoidable development. Overall, only slight changes are set to come about in January.
STANDARD RECYCLATE
December was a short production month and the market remains oversupplied. Some suppliers have slightly lowered their prices again to sell any volumes at all.
The supply situation in the first half of the month was not affected, although many plants are still only running at reduced capacity or have been shut down completely for maintenance. This is because stock levels are high and ordering is virtually non-existent. In addition, some production cycles were coming to an end. Many processors therefore announced that they would be shutting down their plants early and going on holiday.
The situation for recyclers is unlikely to improve any time soon. Slightly increasing virgin material prices might at least help them to keep prices stable. PET recyclers in particular will likely try to start the year with stable prices – their margins are so thin that further price cuts would bleed them dry.
Sufficient material is also expected to be available this month, which, for many companies only started in the second week. Significant momentum in ordering activity is therefore not to be expected.
