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HDPE China, $ / t
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Basis
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Product
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21 Nov '24
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Change
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24 Oct '24
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Last month
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Dec '24*
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CFR China
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HDPE inj
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890–910
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-5
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890–930
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-10
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-10
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HDPE BM
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870–910
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-15
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890–930
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-20
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-10
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HDPE film
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890–920
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-15
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910–940
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-20
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-10
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LDPE China, $ / t
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CFR China
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LDPE film
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1130–1140
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-5
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1130–1170
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-15
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-15
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LLDPE China, $ / t
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CFR China
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LLDPE C4
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940–960
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-5
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950–990
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-20
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-15
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*Forecast
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• The ongoing depreciation of the Chinese yuan against the US dollar has increased the cost of imported PE for consumers;
• Foreign polymer suppliers, including QAPCO, have reduced their quotes to facilitate buying activity;
• Some injection HDPE, film LDPE, and C4-LLDPE grades have depreciated at the top of the price range;
• Film HDPE prices have decreased by $15/t to $890—920/t CFR China;
• Blow-moulding HDPE has depreciated by $15/t to $870—910/t CFR China;
• Injection-moulding HDPE prices have declined by $5/t to $890—910/t CFR China;
• Film LDPE prices have depreciated by $5/t to $1,130—1,140/t CFR China;
• C4-LLDPE prices have decreased by $5/t to $940—960/t CFR China;
• The most actively traded LLDPE futures for January delivery have gone CNY 102/t ($14/t) up week on week to CNY 8,467/t (almost $1,169/t) EXW on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange this Thursday;
• While demand from agricultural films sector is stable, packaging-related PE consumption shows notable weakness;
• Downstream demand remains stagnant, with no significant movement or positive momentum observed across PE value chain;
• Rising imported polymer costs are squeezing converters’ margins, potentially forcing strategic recalibrations in sourcing and production approaches;
• In November, Sinopec officially announced that it had successfully launched a new ethylene complex in northern China, as part of the recent expansion of large petrochemical plants in the country. Sinopec started up a cracker in the first week of November and a PE plant last one. The ethylene complex will support thirteen petrochemical plants. These include a 500,000-tpy HDPE plant and a 350,000-tpy HDPE/LLDPE plant.
Demand is expected to remain weak across the board, with no significant uptick in market activity anticipated in the coming period. Only agricultural demand will show steady demand, though it is expected to decrease. Prices are likely to continue facing downward pressure by $5—10/t, as the combination of currency fluctuations and increased availability of competitively priced imports puts further strain on the market in the near term.