HDPE Prices Remain Stagnant in USA and Asia, While Prices Surge in Europe

High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) prices have followed a stable trend in the USA in the week ending on 21st July 2023. The stagnancy in the prices can be attributed to no major fluctuations in demand for HDPE from the downstream packaging, construction, and automotive industries. The feedstock Ethylene and upstream Naphtha prices have been firm over the week, thus supporting the stable price trend. However, the prices of HDPE surged in Europe with expected increased prices of upstream Naphtha. The Chinese HDPE market has shown stagnancy this week amid improving market sentiments.

The price of HDPE in the USA has shown no fluctuations over four weeks, while feedstock Ethylene and upstream Naphtha have also followed this trend this week. Due to the consistent demand for HDPE, suppliers and manufacturers in the USA have been coping with a period of unvarying demand, with no major variations. This has led to a balanced supply-demand equation, keeping the market well-supplied and avoiding substantial price fluctuations.

The price of Germany’s HDPE has surged over the week by 1%. However, the feedstock Ethylene followed the opposite trend. The European market has remained under pressure for months due to growing inflation rates and market uncertainties. The slowdown in the economy mainly causes this deteriorating market situation. Nevertheless, the prices have increased due to the expected increase in the demand from the European domestic market and increased demand from China as the market is improving there.

The prices of HDPE remained stable in the Asian market as the demand from China was steady. Meanwhile, robust demand is expected from the Chinese market as the economy is improving and the market is stabilizing after months of decline.

Plant shutdown was reported as the Yanchang Yan’an Petrochemical HDPE plant was shut for maintenance turnaround from 1st July 2023 for 45 days. The plant is located in China and has a production capacity of 450,000mt/year. Lotte Titan HDPE plant in Malaysia was reported to have been operating at lower run rates since early July. The plant has a capacity of 220,000 mt/year.

As per ChemAnalyst, the price of HDPE in the US and Europe is expected to surge in the third quarter of 2023. The increasing demand from the downstream construction industry in the US and the expected improvement in the economy might influence the upward trend for HDPE. European nations might also witness an incline in the prices of HDPE over the third quarter as the feedstock Ethylene prices may rise along with the increasing energy prices.