Australia PE Market On Recovery Phase With Coronavirus And Feedstock Price Still Being Stumbling Block
- HDPE Pipe Black (100) sold below $1,000/ton-level
- Demand not yet strong as nation bracing another round of coronavirus outbreak
- PE pricing outlook theoretically should be in retreat shortly
There is a belief from market players that Australia PE market on recovery phase while coronavirus and feedstock price still wreak havoc going into week commencing June 29. A Middle Eastern producer revealed to SSESSMENTS.COM that the company sold HDPE Pipe Black (100) at $990/ton on LC at sight, CIF Australia last week. The producer also shares their calculations that Southeast Asian producers should be able to conclude deals in Australia market at higher prices as the cargoes are non-dutiable. From the trader’s account, Southeast Asian producers have not announced offers for HDPE Pipe Black (100) this week. From North American cargoes, there is a rumour that mLLDPE C6 cargoes will be quoted at $950/ton for July shipment; if such a level turns out to be true then North American offers have gone up by almost $100/ton on the monthly comparison.
The trader told SSESSMENTS.COM that the market is still on a recovery process after the coronavirus outbreak; thus demand isn't strong yet. According to the report by Jakarta Post, more than 30 suburbs in Melbourne being put back on lockdown on July 2 as the number of the new cases in Victoria reached more than 70 cases per day. From the supply sector, Middle Eastern producers reported having limited supply to the market at the moment because of a shortage of manpower stemming from coronavirus issue, coupled with ethylene shortage and backlogs orders earlier. The supply for HDPE Pipe Black (100) going into Australia is indeed tight at the moment since the main local producer opted not producing this grade because of feedstock scarcity. Meanwhile, a trader quoted Thailand’s IRPC which informed that their HDPE plant remains shut for maintenance and is expected to be back online on July 22.
In terms of outlook, some traders shared their view to SSESSMENTS.COM that ethylene price cannot go up any further while uptrend wouldn't last long either. Sentiment building around the market that it is better to sell ethylene rather than selling PE to Australia market with feedstock prices, especially ethylene, is unusually high now. If most of the producers prefer to sell more ethylene, then theoretically ethylene availability shouldn't be that tight for time to come and PE price will retreat.
