After witnessing lacklustre in demand during the first week of April, Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) market stabilized again along with the high demand from the downstream PET bottle industry. Tumbling crude oil prices temporarily smoothened the feedstock Purified Terephthalic Acid (PTA) market; thus, as of April 17, the manufacturers quoted Polyethylene Terephthalate bottle price at USD 1310 per ton in China.

In China, future demand from the downstream packaging industry has also induced the optimism across Polyethylene Terephthalate market. Manufacturers continued to operate efficiently with reduced raw material Purified Terephthalic Acid prices. Export demand from overseas markets, especially India, is observed to be very high as seasonal changes increase the demand for PET bottles from the beverage industry. PET Resin Bottle Grade prices were stable this week in India and settled at USD 1621/MT on April 15.

Furthermore, the sufficient availability of raw materials with volatile energy price dynamics in the last few weeks has increased PET production. However, demand from the downstream industries has gradually increased after a positive response in from the beverages and packaging sector during the summer in the Asia-Pacific region. In addition, the market is at the expense of supply disruptions due to the shortage of truck drivers due to the current situation of COVID-19 in China.

According to sources, many truck drivers are stuck on the highway or trapped in the city, making it very difficult for many companies to find available trucks near Shanghai in the last two weeks. Therefore, manufacturers are trying to switch from ships to air freight, but the cost pressure of air freights were more than doubled from previous years.

According to the ChemAnalyst analysis, " The price for polyethylene terephthalate is anticipated to remain stable with high demand from the downstream PET bottle industry. In addition, the declining cost of raw material, Purified Terephthalic acid is expected to increase the market sentiments for this product.