LLDPE Prices Expected to Fall in the Chinese Market
- 06-Dec-2021 11:42 AM
- Journalist: Nina Jiang
The prices of Linear Low Density Polyethylene (LLDPE) have been falling in China for almost all the grades for the past four weeks now. The prices are expected to continue following the downward path as the supply is expected to rise with the Sinopec Zhongyuan Petrochemical bringing back its 300 KTPA LLPDE plant online which was shut for scheduled maintenance on November 25. The prices are expected to fall by a margin of 3%-4% in the upcoming week with the current prices at USD 1390 per tonne for high flow grade, USD 1355 per tonne for rotational molding grade, and USD 1310 per tonne for extrusion molding grade.
The demand for the polymer has also been sluggish since the inventory levels have been high and the buying activity have been slow. The buying sentiment among the traders has also been weak. This twin effect of slow demand and rising supply is expected to take a hit on the already falling prices in the Chinese market.
LLDPE is a versatile and cost-effective thermoplastic polymer possessing excellent mechanical characteristics finding usage in high performance applications requiring higher tensile strength and superior impact and puncture resistance. LLDPE is produced by the co-polymerisation of Ethylene with alpha-olefins - butene, hexene or octene to yield a resin possessing similar density to LDPE. Around 80% of the LLDPE produced globally goes into film extrusion applications such as food and non-food packaging, shrink/stretch films and rotational molding application for water tanks, industrial containers, toys etc. The global demand for LLDPE stood at around 100 million tonnes in 2020 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of around 4% during the upcoming years till 2030.
As per ChemAnalyst, “the prices of LLDPE which have been falling for a month in China are expected to fall further as the supply is expected to increase with the inventory levels already high and Sinopec Zhongyuan Petrochemical bringing back its 300 KTPA LLPDE plant online which was shut for scheduled maintenance on November 25. The increase in the domestic supply is expected to take a hit on the prices.”