Resin To Riches: Weekly Plastic Market Insights

Polymer Global Analysis

Resin To Riches: Weekly Plastic Market Insights

• General Thoughts: China’s Dalian futures have strengthened, with PVC’s curve firmer against current prices than PP and LLDPE, while persistent global cost pressures challenge expectations of broadly cheaper supply ahead.
• Polyethylene (PE): Rising PE prices in China favor competing exporters, while Canadian PE bag exemptions could shift converting orders across borders, separating gains in supplier shipments from growth in global packaging demand.
• Polypropylene (PP): China’s PP spot rally creates selective openings for competing origins, while gains in accepted conversion fees offer a stronger earnings signal than invoices lifted by monomer prices or freight charges.
• Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC): Lean US PVC stocks offer less price protection if output rises modestly, while new trade barriers could concentrate competition among exporters across Asia’s accessible markets.
• Other Sector Developments: Overseas cracker closures could create US ethylene orders while weakening the plants that place them, making customer viability more important than the apparent export-price gap.

Exhibit 1 – Chart of the Day: China’s Polymer Futures May Understate the Persistence of Global Cost Pressures

Source: Bloomberg, C-MACC Analysis, October 2026