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Packaging
PET & PP
39
PET US - USD/MT
Jan 19 May 19 Sep 19 Jan 20 May 20 Sep 20 Jan 21 May 21
1,000
1,200
1,400
1,600
1,800
2O89 - PET bulk cont fob US
PE and PP markets were significantly impacted by substantial plant outages in Q3 2020 caused by hurricanes,
followed by severe winter storms during February 2021, which hit primary petrochemical plants on the Gulf Coast
and caused essential plants to declare force majeure. Although plants have begun to reopen, supply remains
insufficient to meet demand. The May 2021 average price of US PET was USD 1,598/MT, up 42% y-o-y and 8.2%
m-o-m.
The US PP market was severely impacted by the plant outages in Q3 2020 and February 2021. The tight supply
has been insufficient to meet firm US demand leading to increased reliance on PP imports from Asia. Factories
have gradually begun to reopen causing prices to slip since April, though it will take time for production to return to
full capacity. As a result, the May average price of US PP was recorded at USD 2,420/MT, up 89% y-o-y but down
8% m-o-m.
PP US - USD/MT
Jan 19 May 19 Sep 19 Jan 20 May 20 Sep 20 Jan 21 May 21
1,200
1,700
2,200
2,700
3,200
2O85 - PP cont fob US
PET EU - EUR/MT
Jan 19 May 19 Sep 19 Jan 20 May 20 Sep 20 Jan 21 May 21
600
800
1,000
1,200
1,400
2O52 - PET cont del DE
EU PET mirrored the bullish run in the EU PE market, with tight supply and firm demand supporting prices. Lower
production, due to factory shutdowns in the US, caused imports to fall significantly, thus depleting EU stocks. As a
result, the May 2021 average price of EU PET was recorded at EUR 1,334/MT , up 76% y-o-y and 8.8% m-o-m.
Tight supply and firm demand continued to drive the EU PP market, which, like other plastic materials, has been
driven more by fundamentals rather than by COVID-19. The May 2021 average price of EU PP was EUR
1,799/MT , up 85% y-o-y and 3.8% m-o-m.
PP EU - EUR/MT
Jan 19 May 19 Sep 19 Jan 20 May 20 Sep 20 Jan 21 May 21
850
1,070
1,290
1,510
1,730
1,950
2O53 - PP cont del DE