(ICIS) -- Polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) buyers in Europe have been faced with announcements of rollovers or price increases for September, following decreases in both the ethylene and propylene monthly monomer contracts, market sources said on Monday. September ethylene monomer contract settled at EUR 1,115/tonne (USD 1,570/tonne) FD (free delivered) NWE (northwest Europe), down by just EUR 5/tonne from its August level, while the September propylene contract settled down by EUR 37/tonne, at EUR 1,078/tonne FD NWE. The first week of September was unusually quiet in the polyolefins sector, but producers put this down to holidays.
PE buyers are faced with announcements of increases from some suppliers, with Dow having made a public statement that it is seeking a EUR 50/tonne increase in September. This is widely thought to be overambitious, and a competitor to Dow has informed its customers that it will be targeting a EUR 20/tonne increase.
In spite of these announcements, however, the PE market is also rife with reports of spot offers of western European low density polyethylene (LDPE) in particular on offer below August levels, barely above the new ethylene contract in some cases, at EUR 1,130-1,150/tonne FD NWE. This level is not confirmed by any western European source.