MOSCOW (MRC) - Polypropylene (PP) prices continued to rise in the worls market, buyers reported new historical price level. A similar situation was seen in the Russian market. The dynamics of price growth increased in the second week of March as prices broke another historical record , according to the ICIS-MRC Price Report.
Polypropylene prices began to rise in December in a number of regions of the world, and the dynamics of price growth intensified in February-March. For a number of reasons, the Russian market follows global trends, but with a slight delay.
Polypropylene prices are growing in the domestic market in line with export prices and by the end of this week exceeded the level of Rb160,000/tonne, including VAT, and delivery in spot market. Whereas at the end of February they were on average down by Rb30,000/tonne.
The record level of polypropylene prices in the Russian market is accompanied by a lack of supply, some sellers limited their sales in the domestic market for a number of reasons in February. Converters, in turn, find it increasingly difficult to accept new price levels and pass them to the cost of finished products.
It will hardly be possible to change the situation in the near future due to the growth of import volumes. Turkmenistan, a traditional and one of the largest suppliers of polypropylene to Russia, is also showing record levels of export prices.
Export prices of homopolymer PP raffia rose this week to USD1,775/tonne, FCA / FOB, for shipment within six months. Russian producers said that the prices of polypropylene in the domestic market have only now begun to approach the export alternative, while since the beginning of the year they have been lower than the prices of export sales.
In particular, depending on the producer and the direction of export, deals for for March shipments were done in the range of USD1,820-2,090/tonne FCA. Prices of homopolymer PP raffia from some producers exceeded Rb160,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT in the spot market by mid-March. Discussions of copolymers started from Rb170,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT, and higher.
MRC