Players see €30-100/tonne fall for Europe Oct PET

02 October 2008 11:33  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS news)--Weak demand and poor sentiment has led to talk of a drop for October European polyethylene terephthalate (PET) in a €30-100/tonne ($42-140/tonne) range, buyers and a seller said on Thursday.

 

“It’s going down. October has just started... [The] decrease [will be] in [the] line of €80-100/tonne,” a buyer said.

 

A producer had not heard of such figures being open for discussion but acknowledged the current weak demand for PET would indeed lead to a decrease.

 

The price of raw materials would not go down enough to justify a drop in PET of €80-100/tonne, the supplier said.

 

“Our expectations are that it won’t go down by more than €40/tonne,” he added.

 

The market in general though, was well aware that the peak season for bottle grade PET was over.

 

“PET demand is very soft but people still drink water. October is traditionally bad and the season has ended,” said the supplier.

 

Buyers and sellers are at loggerheads regarding October pricing but the situation has been made worse by the fact the September value of paraxylene (PX), a key raw material, is still uncertain.

October price discussions were in a similar vein to September negotiations ,which resulted in prices falling by €40-60/tonne on average.

 

“The trend has not yet turned around.... demand is weak and people are cautious,” a trader said.

 

The September reference price range is currently €1,495-1,620/tonne FD (free delivered) W Europe (west Europe), according to global chemical market intelligence service ICIS pricing.

 

($1 = €0.71)

 

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By: Caroline Howard
+44 20 8652 3214

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