In the second half of January 2026, the US Polypropylene market turned to what can be described as a bullish momentum. Polypropylene prices increased by 1.62% in the third week and then increased another 1.06% in the fourth week of January. This exacted a positive 12-week bullish pattern. The rally was initially supported by tightening polymer-grade propylene streams following sporadic cutbacks in mid-January, strong demand for rigid packaging, pre-hurricane stocking and continued draw on pharmaceutical supplies from AptarGroup. In the last week, a 2.5% surge in propylene Gulf Coast PDH outage, together with harsh winter weather triggered Henry Hub gas 15%. Newly announced EPA VOC limits cause short term retrofit downtime, domestic run-rates squeezed, building further upward momentum. Firm automotive call-offs and solid railcar velocity were further signs of strength.
The demand for polypropylene strengthened gradually prior to the second half of January ****. Hard packaging converters brought forward pre-hurricane stocking and kept strong call-off volume of polypropylene, while e-commerce logistics players leaned towards light mailers. Depleting industry inventories of producers were further being pulled by pharmaceutical packaging from AptarGroup. During the final week of January, polypropylene demand in the auto sector remained solid and shippers turned cars briskly. Late January saw a rather marked tightening in supply. The mid-month cuts on polymer-grade propylene streams tightened, then surged *.** after a Gulf Coast PDH outage on January **. Henry Hub gas surged *** in response to a blizzard on January **, leading a number of Gulf plants to reduce output. Newly announced EPA VOC limits led to retrofit downtime, limiting polypropylene run-rates even more in the short term. Domestic suppliers came under increasing scrutiny, but there was not reprieve from the supply-side. Polypropylene...
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