Resin To Riches: Weekly Plastic Market Insights

Polymer Global Analysis

Resin To Riches: Weekly Plastic Market Insights

• General Thoughts: Early-2026 polymer spot price stabilization masks weak production margins, accelerating restructuring and capital discipline in 1Q26 as producers right-size operations to restore profitability and lift returns.
• Polyethylene (PE): Early-2026 PE prices show support, but as restocking fades and cost curve flattening concerns mount, exports offer marginal relief, leaving disciplined restructuring, not demand recovery, to determine margins and returns.
• Polypropylene (PP): Global PP spot markets enter 2026 oversupplied, with China anchoring prices, cost support fleeting, exports absorbing stress, and restructuring, not demand recovery, determining stabilization durability globally.  
• Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC): Global PVC remains range-bound as disciplined supply management offsets weak construction demand, leaving exports, trade enforcement, and capacity rationalization to determine durability in early 2026.
• Other Sector Developments: Petrochemical feedstock prices have entered 2026 soft globally, but episodically firmer in specific markets, such as US ethylene and PGP, reinforcing margin compression rather than restoring pricing power.  

Exhibit 1 – Chart of the Day: Weak polymer margins to accelerate restructuring and capital discipline efforts in 1Q26.      

Source: Bloomberg, C-MACC Estimates, January 2026