Polypropylene:Europe

摘要

The European polypropylene market saw spot prices fall this week, and prices closed Wednesday at Eur1,200-1,205/mt FD NWE. A number of traders noted demand had significantly decreased from levels seen at the beginning of September, for example, and this week illustrated weaker demand than the previous one. “It is really terrible this week, [there are] no spot deals at all to find... I cannot believe demand is so weak,” one trader added. The perception of market fundamentals was echoed by one producer, who said: “Where are the customers? The market [has completely collapsed].” Some of the traders spoken to felt there were two possible reasons for the recent reduction in demand over the past fortnight. First, trader sources said market participants had accumulated stock over the preceding month, which meant there was little urgency for material as market participants were well covered, according to sources; the second reason was due to a perceived belief from some sources that prices may fall further. This belief was supported by the recent relative decrease in European naphtha values, when compared to some values recorded in September. For instance, on September 9, naphtha was assessed at $964/mt CIF NWE, which was compared to a value of $898/mt CIF NWE recorded October 8.