(ICIS) -- A comparatively warm winter is helping sustain better-than-expected buying interest in the European polyethylene (PE) pipe-grade resin and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic markets, industry sources said on Tuesday. In some cases - such as PE pipes - it is touted to bring forward the beginning of the traditional spring' buying season. ⌠Mild winter weather is helping sustain levels of demand, one PVC producer said. ⌠We are surprised that there have been so many enquiries, another producer added.
Low inventories after year-end destocking activity and favourable currency exchange rates are also driving this increase in customer demand, improving sales volumes and balancing out the PE pipe resin and PVC markets.
Despite a pick-up in trading activity, PVC contract price ideas for January continue to point in different directions.
The European January ethylene contract price settled at EUR1,120/tonne (USD1,418/tonne) FD (free delivered) NWE (northwest Europe) - up by EUR40/tonne from December. Producers are aiming for hikes of EUR50-60/tonne in order to offset the higher upstream prices and ease pressure on margins. Buyers, on the other hand, are pushing for an increase of EUR10-40/tonne instead, depending on the region.