LME Plastics: PP prices drop another $15

LONDON (ICIS news)--Polypropylene futures prices dropped a further $15 on the London Metal Exchange on Wednesday, with the exchange’s official price falling to $1,200/tonne.

PP prices have fallen by $80 since the same time last week.

The exchange’s official linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) price was down $5 on Wednesday at $1,210/tonne.

Taiwan’s Formosa Plastics Corp (FPC) plans to raise its high density PE (HDPE) and LLDPE output by up to a quarter to full capacity in June, due to increased ethylene supply from its sister company Formosa Petrochemical Corp (FPCC), a company source said on Wednesday.

Polyolefin production continued on Tuesday at INEOS Polyolefins’ Grangemouth facility in the UK despite an unscheduled maintenance shutdown at an olefins cracker at the site, company sources said.

The June PP contract closed down $45 at $1,195 on Tuesday, while the LLDPE contract was down $5 at $1,210. According to broker reports, 56 lots of PP were traded on Tuesday and 12 lots of LLDPE.

Date:		Contract:
30 May 2007		LLDPE				PP
LME reference price		1210				1200
Forward prices		Bid		Offer		Bid		Offer
June 2007		1190		1210		1180		1200
July 2007		1205		1225		1205		1225
August 2007		1215		1235		1215		1235