European PET Resin Prices Decline on a Weak Demand and Oversupply

Polyethylene Terephthalate Resin (Bottle) market activity in Europe remained minimal, and agreements began to be closed mostly using rollovers or with marginal decline. The current drop in PET Resin prices is a result of reducing feedstock costs and the opening of new capacity in China. However, downstream beverages industries continue to buy less and supply the stocked material, which kept the market mainly on a downtrend.

In Europe, PET Resin prices essentially held steady in comparison to last week because of modest variations in raw materials and continuedly weak demand, which prevented price increases from being passed on to May sales. Sellers were generally reporting weaker demand due to a number of factors, including inflation and adverse weather in the peak season for PET Resin demand. In fact, producers continue to run their facilities at lower prices despite the high season for PET Resin demand.

In some cases, they reported having large inventories of finished goods that they struggled to sell off because there was no demand. According to a buyer in the beverage industry, the demand is lower than last year when April and May were sunny. Additionally, as customers must be cautious with their spending due to high inflation in Germany and other European nations, this impacts the consumption of beverages. As a result, suppliers were unable to raise their PET Resin prices in May due to a lack of demand and stable to softer raw materials.

In addition, Sichuan Hanjiang's 300kt/year PET Resin production has started smoothly. The production of Wankai Chongqing III began in April. Although capacity construction is progressing, there is an increasing likelihood of a major increase in supply.

As per the ChemAnalyst Forecast, "PET Resin price is expected to increase as buyers hope to see better purchasing activity in the coming weeks. However, seasonal sales of PET Resins will likely increase."