This week, LLDPE prices rolled over in Asia.
Global oil prices registered an upward trend with production levels at oil and gas facilities in the US Gulf Coast region yet
to recover from the impact of Hurricane Francine.
Meanwhile, China's INE crude oil futures contract (SC) was closed on the occasion of the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday.
Although PE import market talks in China remained generally soft, some price movement was seen.
Meanwhile, overseas sellers were impeded in their effort to generate bids from downstream buyers,
despite holding prices at stable levels. Importers were largely unwilling to participate in October-November cargo discussions,
given that Q4 demand prospects remain uncertain.
In Southeast Asia, the focus of regional producers was mainly on selling their goods domestically in hopes of garnering higher netbacks,
as intra-ASEAN container freight rates were higher as compared to rates seen in Q2 2024.
Although regional producers continued to grapple with squeezed margins, they held domestic PE prices at competitive levels to
avert the inflows of import cargoes.
Meanwhile, a continued sluggishness in sales transactions drove them to lower their offers slightly.
In India, domestic producers have extended discount offers on sales transactions to bolster buying activity in an otherwise
gloomy market environment.
Furthermore, Indian producers are likely to explore the option of selling their goods in export markets to alleviate
the pressure arising from piled up inventories, as demand continues to be tepid in the domestic market