Crude Oil Rebounds but Plastics Stay Soft: March 16 Resin Market Forecast

Crude futures finished higher on Friday after the United States and other governments signalled plans to shore up a weakening economy, yet the week still went down as the worst since the 2008 global financial crisis. Pressure came from the COVID-19 pandemic and from plans by Saudi Arabia, the leading exporter, and its allies to push record volumes of oil into the market. The April WTI contract gained $0.23, or 0.73%, to settle at $31.73 per barrel, while May Brent added $0.63, or 1.90%, to close at $33.85 per barrel.

LLDPE: Friday brought a lacklustre session, with several grades extending their declines. Linear futures opened lower and swung sideways, traders admitted the forward picture was hard to read and reported no meaningful change in actual business, end users proved hard to activate, factories bought cautiously and real transactions stayed thin. Reference quotes: Dongguan saw local adjustments, with Guangzhou 7042 at 6,580-6,600 yuan/tonne excluding tax; Xi'an offers softened, with Lanzhou Petrochemical 2426H at 7,650 yuan/tonne; Panjin offers softened, with Jilin Petrochemical 7042 at 6,900 yuan/tonne. Today's forecast: prices are likely to fluctuate within a small range.

PP: The market softened while holding broadly stable. Polypropylene futures moved lower in choppy trade, petrochemical inventories edged up, sellers came under pressure on offers and focused on discounting to move cargo, downstream follow-through stayed unimpressive, factories bought mainly to cover essential needs and the trading mood was flat. Reference quotes: Chongqing kept sliding, with Dushanzi EPS30R at 7,850-7,900 yuan/tonne; Qilu Chemical City slipped modestly, with Baofeng K8003 at 7,550 yuan/tonne; Nanjing moved lower, with Zhong'an T03 at 6,800 yuan/tonne. Today's forecast: further downside remains possible.

PVC: Prices shifted within a narrow band. Upstream inventories were drawn down more quickly and some producers increased pre-sales, while downstream work and production restarts gathered pace. Demand as a whole stayed weak, however, with buyers bargaining for lower levels. Reference quotes: Hebei changed little, with carbide-process Type 5 material around 6,080-6,130 yuan/tonne delivered; Guangzhou held steady, with Dagu 800 bulk at 6,500 yuan/tonne; Hangzhou was quiet and flat, with Tianye Type 3 at 6,500 yuan/tonne. Today's forecast: a quiet, stable tone is expected to prevail.

PS: The market consolidated on the weak side, with some grades easing a further 50 yuan/tonne. Bearish cues from the stock market, futures and feedstock styrene kept pessimism elevated, and sellers pushed cargo out actively, while buyers stepped in cautiously, purchased mostly for essential needs and settled deals at low levels. Reference quotes: Shantou lowered some offers, with Renxin 525B at 7,450 yuan/tonne; Dongguan softened, with Taiwan's Formosa Chemicals 5250 at 7,800 yuan/tonne. Today's forecast: steady prices with slight declines are expected.

ABS: A weak consolidation left some prices drifting lower. Trading sentiment was fairly cautious, downstream buying interest stayed low and concluded business was light. Reference quotes: Dongguan continued to fall, with Taiwan's Formosa Chemicals 15A1 at 10,200 yuan/tonne; Shantou kept cutting prices to move cargo, with Daqing 750A at 9,950 yuan/tonne. Today's forecast: the decline may extend in some regions.

PET bottle chip: Prices edged down. Crude oil continued to slide, PTA and monoethylene glycol both weakened and cost-side support proved thin, prompting some bottle chip makers to trim offers by another 50-100 yuan/tonne. Seller sentiment was ordinary and largely market-following, downstream demand showed no improvement and overall trading on the floor stayed quiet. Reference quotes: water bottle chip at 5,550-5,700 yuan/tonne in East China; 5,550-5,700 yuan/tonne self-pickup in South China; 5,600-5,700 yuan/tonne self-pickup in North China. Today's forecast: downside room appears limited.

Recycled PET: Prices hovered around the centre of the range with an overall soft tone. Virgin material stayed at low levels, the recycled segment followed it down, on-site raw bottle collection was slow, washing plants ran at low rates and recycled flake volumes stayed limited. Downstream chemical fibre plants faced sluggish output and sales, sourced feedstock cautiously and favoured buying on dips. Reference quote: white flakes for spinning in the imitation large-plant chemical fibre segment in East China stood at around 4,900 yuan/tonne. Today's forecast: the weak trend is set to continue.

This article is republished from China Packaging Network (pack.cn). Original link: http://news.pack.cn/show-354805.html