India’s Hexene market remained under pressure this week, driven by weak polyolefin fundamentals, subdued downstream demand, and ample regional supply. Seasonal slowdown in agricultural films and cautious packaging sector buying limited offtake, while industrial and container segments maintained minimal procurement. Supply stability was ensured by steady imports and smooth port operations, but the restart of polymer facilities in China added to Asia-Pacific availability. Stable ethylene and soft naphtha costs offered no upward support. With buyers focusing on spot deals and overall polyethylene sentiment still weak, Hexene prices are expected to remain soft in the near term unless downstream demand improves.
India's Hexene market continued its downward trend this week, with market sentiment weighed by continued weakness in polyolefin fundamentals, subdued downstream demand, and an oversupplied regional environment. Hexene end-user consumption within packaging and farm film segments continued to decelerate, consistent with seasonal trends and risk-averse procurement plans.
Industrial film and container production also witnessed curb buying as converters chose to work through available inventories instead of taking forward purchases. Competitive Hexene supplies from local producers, especially Chinese producers seeking to clear surplus inventory, supported a bearish tone. Absent decisive indications of rebounding downstream polymer demand or a strong feedstock-driven cost impulse, sentiment in the Hexene value chain is muted.
Prices dropped during the week, continuing the recent downtrend. The fall followed a general softening in domestic polyethylene markets, where prices of LLDPE, LDPE, and HDPE recorded monthly losses of 0.27%, 0.35%, and 1.69% respectively. The connection between Hexene and polyethylene demand was still visible, since comonomer consumption generally follows polymer manufacturing trends.
India's hexene supply-side situations were firm, with regular import arrivals and efficient unloading at JNPT keeping the market supplies fairly tight. Hexene raw material ethylene prices remained almost unchanged, while crude-based naphtha prices were unable to take sufficient traction to counter the downward pressure from soft demand. The reopening of Chinese polymer plants that had previously been shut down for maintenance further added to monomer and comonomer availability in the Asia-Pacific market, damping what otherwise could have been a rebound.
On the demand side, total Hexene consumption in India followed the lower production at LLDPE and mLLDPE plants that are the largest users of the comonomer. Demand for agricultural film eased with seasonal planting schedules, and packaging applications saw fewer orders as producers maintained tight inventories. Industrial film and containers also kept procurement low, opting to revisit the market after August. Although China's late-month polyethylene prices experienced a moderate increase, the gain was inadequate to change the defensive tone of Indian buyers, who remained inclined towards spot deals compared to long-term contracts. Market players in general anticipate pricing to remain under strain unless there is a dramatic pickup in polymer demand or a sustained increase in feedstock ethylene and naphtha prices.
In the near future, the Indian Hexene market will most probably continue to be led by downstream polymer performance and regional competitive supply conditions. Stability in currency, movements in freight rates, and the operating position of major Chinese polymer plants will also be closely watched, as these will have an impact on procurement in the next few months.
