LONDON (ICIS) -- European November polyethylene terephthalate (PET) prices decreased by ┬70-100/tonne ($93-133/tonne) from October because of upstream pressure and poor demand, sources said on Friday.
⌠Prices have come down to commensurate with raw materials plus circa ┬10-15/tonne a producer said. Production costs came down by around ┬80/tonne, and depending on the starting point, PET prices have come down anywhere from ┬70-100/tonne from October to November. There is confirmation of November prices being agreed down at ┬1,235/tonne FD (free delivered) Europe, though buyers and sellers agree that not all sellers are in a position to go that low. The high end is confirmed at ┬1,290/tonne.
⌠Our freely negotiated deals are around ┬1,285/tonne for west European product in November, a buyer said. There are reports of spot deals being done below ┬1,230/tonne for domestic material, though only imports for December and January delivery are heard below ┬1,200/tonne. Further decreases are expected in December feedstocks paraxylene (PX) and monoethylene glycol (MEG) which may result in PET prices coming off again, at least from the high end of the November range.
Others estimate a PET decrease of ┬40-50/tonne. November has been a better month for sales than October, but the market is still acting with caution, particularly as the end of year approaches.
Perspectives of development of the polymers markets, pricing issues and other important aspects will be discussed at The Polymers Summit-2011, which will be held in Moscow on November 30, 2011 at the Ritz Carlton Hotel. The Summit is organized by MRC with the support of ICIS. The main idea of the Summit is to find a "the golden mean" between producers and converters. When producers receive exactly such margin of production, which helps them to invest in production expansion in order to substitute polymers imports, and the converters receive such price of feedstock that helps them to compete imported finished products. The Summit site gives an access to the live video of the Summit, speakers" presentations, as well as opportunities to ask questions or make appointments to any Summit partcipant.
MRC