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(ICIS) -- Polyethylene (PE) buyers in
Europe are in no hurry to settle prices for August as upstream volatility
continues to affect crude oil pricing and demand remains soft, in spite of
bullish talk from producers that are targeting price increases, several said on
Monday.
Food packaging, which has so far weathered the storm of poor demand, is
beginning to be affected. UK-based Premier Foods reported an unprecedented slump
in half-year profits earlier this month, blaming “a combination of reduced
consumer spending and significant raw-material inflation”. The southern European
buyer of PE for food packaging said that most of its manufacturing was for
distribution within Europe as a whole, and that all regions had shown a drop in
demand.
Another buyer told the same story.
Some PE producers in
Europe made public price-hike announcements, with Dow looking for an increase of
EUR 100/tonne (USD 143/tonne) in August. Others talked of plus EUR
50/tonne.
mrcplast.com
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