A trader in China informed SSESSMENTS.COM that a South Korean producer announced early PP offers for August shipment. The offers are for the first half of August allocation. Compared to last week, the producer’s offers for PP across all grades increased between $30-40/ton. According to the trader, the producer plans to offer the other half of the allocation between $20-30/ton higher than the current offers. The trader only purchased a small volume since buyers’ responses toward the offers were lukewarm. Even so, the trader managed to get a discount of $10/ton.
For PE, the trader has not received fresh import offers yet. Pertaining to the delayed Iranian PE cargoes, the trader reported to SSESSMENTS.COM that some big agents handling the cargoes announced force majeure on July 14. Customers were given two options; to wait for the cargoes without information about the exact time of arrival or cancel the orders. Such a decision raises suspicion from market players in China. To be fair, the agents might really not know when the vessel will be allowed to dock at China ports, the trader said. On the other hand, it is also possible that the agents have known the time of arrival, but will not disclose it. Hence, the cargoes which were booked below $800/ton-level can be sold at higher prices later if customers decide to cancel the orders.
