The polypropylene market in Poland has been showing signs of poor activity for an extended period. Market participants point to a decline in orders for finished products, stagnation in the automotive industry in Europe, as well as overall economic slowdown and the impact of the so-called "trade wars" initiated by the US administration. In the coming weeks, these issues may deepen due to planned downtimes in production facilities related to the upcoming holidays.
Chem-Courier predicts that in May, the price of propylene will decrease by more than 50 EUR/t, which will possibly lead to a reduction in polypropylene prices. Producers and traders will try to limit discounts, as they believe that processors should start placing orders after the difficult months that have occurred recently.
- Market players have noted sluggish demand for homopolymers due to holiday downtimes at customers;
- According to traders, packaging producers have been the most frequent buyers of homopolymers this week;
- Activity in the copolymer market has been very weak, with some traders complaining that they have only sold a couple of pallets;
- Supply in the market fully met customer demand, due to low demand and the availability of imported materials, mainly from Asia and Egypt, at competitive prices;
- Average market prices remained at the level of the previous week, although sales in the higher price ranges significantly decreased;
- Some traders offered discounts to customers on the spot market, but this did not significantly boost the market;
- The average market price of PP raffia in Poland has fallen slightly and currently stands at 1090-1150 EUR/t DDP, while the price in North-West Europe is at 1030-1080 EUR/t FD.