Dow Chemical is implementing a price increase of Real 200/mt (around $61/mt) on all grades of polyethylene sold in Brazil, effective Monday, the company said in a letter to customers obtained by S&P Global Platts.
The increase comes on the heels of similar increases passed along by Dow and other regional producers in Latin America in recent months, when availability of imports from the US were limited in the wake of Hurricane Harvey.
Brazil-based petrochemical giant Braskem also issued a November price increase of Real 200/mt for all grades of PE sold in its domestic market, according to a source with knowledge of company operations. Braskem's increase took effect November 15, the source said.
Dow has over the last several weeks also increased its PE prices in other parts of Latin America, most recently by $70/mt on resins sold in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay in October.
October also saw Dow raise its PE pricing by a total of Real 600/mt (around $190/mt) in the Brazilian market.
Buyers in key Latin American markets, meanwhile, have expressed doubt over any further price increases on PE sold in South America, particularly for November purchases, sources said.
With the vast majority of distributors and converters already dealing with elevated stocks, purchasing activity has been slow this month and is expected to remain so through the end of the year.
Buying typically slows down in the latter part of the fourth quarter, with many industries shutting down for most of December amid weak demand and holiday slowdowns, sources said.
Dow has PE production facilities in Bahia Blanca, Argentina, with an annual capacity of 540,000 mt/year for high-density PE and 90,000 mt/year of low-density PE.
Domestic Brazilian pricing was last assessed by Platts on November 15 at Real 5,700/mt for low-density PE, Real 5,350/mt for linear low-density PE and Real 5,630/mt for injection-grade high-density PE.
HDPE blowmolding and film grades were each assessed at Real 5,305/mt on November 15, according to Platts data.
