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With polyolefin supplies exceeding demand, polypropylene prices dropped farther in June, while PE prices were mostly flat but facing strong potential for declines in the July/ August time frame. In contrast, PET prices rose and PS and PVC had strong upward potential, driven by higher feedstock costs, unplanned production outages, and, in some cases, an expected upsurge in export demand. These are the views of purchasing consultants from Resin Technology, Inc. (RTi), Fort Worth, Texas (rtiglobal.com); CEO Michael Greenberg of the Plastics Exchange, Chicago (theplasticsexchange. com); and Houston-based PetroChemWire (petrochemwire.com). PE PRICES TEETERING Polyethylene prices were flat through May and June, but held potential to drop as early as last month. Mike Burns, RTi's v.p. of client services for PE, ventures that PE prices could fall 4¢/lb in July-August, and perhaps another 3¢/lb by the end of September. In late June, Greenberg reported an uptick in activity in the spot PE market, owing to increased resin availability and lower prices across all commodity grades. PetroChemWire (PCW)reported that spot HDPE supply was "balanced-to-long," but LDPE and LLDPE were still considered tight. The combination of a global PE glut and slowdown in demand has the poten- tial to bring on a "new era of oversupply," according to Burns. "As the supply- demand imbalance continues, we are likely to see the decoupling of PE prices from oil prices." Nonetheless, Burns says an attempt to raise PE prices, however improbable, could emerge if oil prices climb to $55/bbl. He sees domestic PE demand as pretty strong, though proces- sors generally have been taking a "buy-as- needed" approach. PP, PE Prices Drop While Others Rise By Lilli Manolis Sherman Senior Editor Meanwhile, PCW reported that LyondellBasell's force majeure for LLDPE, declared in May because of mechanical problems at its Texas and Illinois plants, continued in June, and a major overhaul of the Morris, Ill., site was to begin last month. PCW also reported that two other suppliers' LDPE units (one of them Westlake's) were scheduled for maintenance through July. In Mexico, Braskem started up two HDPE units and a new LDPE unit was due on line last month. PP PRICES DOWN Polypropylene prices dropped around 4¢/lb in June, even though June propylene monomer settled 0.5¢/lb higher, at 33¢/lb. The PP price cut was in addition to the 4.5¢/lb combined decreases in April and May, driven by suppliers' aiming to regain lost market share, according to Scott Newell, RTi's v.p. of PP markets. Polyethylene Price Trends HDPE Injection JUNE JULY HDPE Blow Molding JUNE JULY HDPE HMW JUNE JULY LDPE JUNE JULY LLDPE Butene JUNE JULY Market Prices Effective Mid-July 2016 Resin Grade ¢/lb POLYETHYLENE (railcar) LDPE, LINER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85-87 LLDPE BUTENE, FILM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71-73 NYMEX 'FINANCIAL' FUTURES . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 . 25 AUGUST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 . 0 HDPE, G-P INJECTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84-86 HDPE, BLOW MOLDING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79-81 NYMEX 'FINANCIAL' FUTURES . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 . 75 AUGUST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 . 00 HDPE, HMW FILM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87-89 POLYPROPYLENE (railcar) G-P HOMOPOLYMER, INJECTION . . . . . . . . . . . 68 . 5-70 . 5 NYMEX 'FINANCIAL' FUTURES . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 . 50 AUGUST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 . 00 IMPACT COPOLYMER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 . 5-72 . 5 POLYST YRENE (railcar) G-P CRYSTAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85-87 HIPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91-93 PVC RESIN (railcar) G-P HOMOPOLYMER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77-79 PIPE GR ADE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76-78 PET (truckload) U . S . BOT TLE-GR ADE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 . 5 Polyolefin prices 'calm' for now, while PET, PS, PVC show a bit more volatility . @plastechmag 63 Plastics Technology YO U R B U S I N E S S YO U R B U S I N E S S Resin Pricing Analy sis