Market sources reported to SSESSMENTS.COM that a Middle Eastern PE producer managed to achieve some deals to the Southeast Asia market this week. Compared to a fortnight ago, import HDPE Film offers from the Middle Eastern producer were kept stable. While for LDPE Film and LLDPE Film C4, the offers were trimmed between $10-20/ton and $30-40/ton respectively as compared to the same period. Regarding the market response, sources stated that most customers were asking at $880-890/ton for HDPE Film, which is $60/ton lower than the initial offer level. As such, it is difficult to conclude deals since the current offers above $900/ton-level discourage buyers from making purchases.
On the other hand, deals for LDPE Film and LLDPE Film C4 were generally concluded at the initial offer levels. For LDPE Film, the sources revealed to SSESSMENTS.COM that the Middle Eastern producer is offering LDPE Film with high quality, which carries some premium over common LDPE Film; hence, the offers are deemed workable. For LLDPE Film C4, most procurements were made by traders while converters are still refraining from procuring materials. Particularly in Malaysia, some converters are still expecting lower prices; thus, some deals were concluded at $5/ton lower than the initial offer level at $855/ton. All import offers in this story on LC at sight, CIF Main Port basis.
In general, PE demand in Southeast Asia in July is weaker compared to June as buying sentiment is affected by the downtrend in the China market. Moreover, the sales for the converters’ finished products could not be considered as strong yet. Hence, Southeast Asian customers are expecting lower prices in the upcoming week. Although the producer supply remains relatively tight due to the previous backlogs, sources mentioned to SSESSMENTS.COM that the producer might be offering at a more competitive level in the upcoming week and there is a possibility to see LLDPE Film C4 offers at $850/ton-level.
