Muted Activities In Pakistani PP Market As Players Waiting For Fresh August Shipment Offers
- Most players are waiting for fresh August shipment offers from foreign suppliers
- Availability of spot PP cargoes remains scarce
- Pakistan PP market will be quieter next week ahead of Eid Al-Adha holiday
Pakistan PP market in the state of stale this week. A trader informed that their side no longer has PP offers for the spot market. Most of the PP transactions are already closed and most players are now waiting for the announcement of August shipment offers from foreign suppliers. One of the distributors commented that buying ideas for Middle East origin PP Block Copolymer and PP Homo Injection respectively at $1,000/ton and $1,050/ton for August shipment offers since offers from the supplier are expected to increase by $50/ton from July shipment offers. Recalling SSESSMENTS.COM database, a Saudi producer has announced August shipment PP offers to the Pakistan market last week, with offers for PP Homo Raffia and PP Homo Injection surfaced with an increment of $60/ton as compared to July shipment. Both products were available at $980/ton on LC at sight, CFR Karachi Port. More added, the volume was limited and the offers were only valid until July 14, 2020.
Demand-wise, market consumption for import PP cargoes is still considered healthy. A distributor shared their observation that customers already secured enough volumes in the past two months when prices were low. Hence, the distributor is cautious regarding the demand for August shipment with a view that converters will keep buying on a hand-to-mouth basis as finished product demand is not fully recovering. Demand is much driven by food packagings and plastic bags as more people buy take out foods and delivery shopping. Meanwhile, converters’ production rate reported has increased, although yet reached the maximum level. On the supply side, SSESSMENTS.COM was informed that the availability of spot PP cargoes remains scarce. Most Middle Eastern producers reportedly diverted most allocation to Europe; hence, allocation to Asia market is low.
Looking ahead, market participants in Pakistan voiced out to SSESSMENTS.COM that a further increase in import PP prices is on the card considering the current supply conditions as well as the global market trend. Demand-wise, the market is already on a slowed-down phase ahead of the Eid Al-Adha holiday, which falls on July 30 and lasts until July 31, and is predicted to be quieter next week.
