April contract prices for PE in US market flat for second consecutive month at US$0.83-US$85/lb. for LLDPE butane film, US$92-US$94/lb. for LDPE film, US$83-US$85/lb. for HDPE blow molding; market players expect different situation for May and June

Elyse Blye

LONDON , May 22, 2014 (ICIS Chemical Business (CBNB Abstracts)) – Contract prices for polyethylene (PE) in the US market settled flat for the second consecutive month in Apr 2014, discouraging buyers' hopes of price reduction. Prices rolled over and settled at 83-85 cents/lb ($1830-1874/tonne) DEL (delivered) for linear low density PE (LLDPE) butane film; 92-94 cents/lb DEL for low density PE (LDPE) film; and 83-85 cents/lb DEL for high density PE (HDPE) blow moulding, for small quantity purchases. Prices remained firm due to some issues in the upstream ethylene market, including the outage of the Evangeline pipeline. Market players expect a different situation in May-Jun 2014, with the Evangeline pipeline set to resume operation and the continual improvement of PE supply. For most of Apr 2014, pricing in the US were too high to compete with global pricing. Meanwhile, demand in China has improved, causing prices in Asia to begin increasing. As the upward trend in Asian pricing continues, US material will regain competitiveness, offering opportunity in the export market.

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