Resin To Riches: Weekly Plastic Market Insights

General Thoughts: Volatile feedstock and freight markets underpin mild global polymer price gains, which we think will persist into early July. A crude oil rebound or substantial outages are needed to spur prices meaningfully higher.
Polyethylene (PE): Global spot PE prices increased last week amid considerable feedstock uncertainties, with the underlying trend more in favor of North American producer margin upticks relative to most in Europe and Asia.
Polypropylene (PP): Global spot PP markets exhibited another week of varied price movements, with Western PGP prices weakening relative to those in Asia, and weak demand, suggesting downward pressure on PP prices.
Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC): Volatility in freight and regulatory changes drive patchy PVC price movements globally, amid disparate regional trends, signaling urgent strategic realignment needs for many converters and traders.
Other Sector Developments: Ex-US naphtha prices reflect more support relative to USGC ethane compared to the crude oil prices relative to US natural gas, which is positive for North American polymer producer margins.

Exhibit 1 – Chart of the Day: Ex-US naphtha prices have risen relative to US ethane – a plus for US polymer producers.