Asian polyethylene offers to Brazil are expected to go down at least $30-40/mt next week after China returns from its holiday buying at a slower pace.
"The Chinese market is cold at the moment causing the Brazilian import market to be very slow because customers are waiting for the possibility of Asian offer prices could to go down," said a Brazilian trader.
This week, Asian offers to Brazil were heard at $1,450/mt CFR for HDPE film and injection, $1,430/mt CFR for blow molding, $1,520/mt CFR for LDPE film and at $1,400/mt CFR for LLDPE butene.
Polyethylene bids in the Brazilian domestic market were heard at $1,400/mt CFR for HDPE blow molding, $1,420/mt CFR for HDPE film and injection and at $1,500/mt CFR for LDPE film.
US resin offers to Brazil were higher at $1,440/mt CFR for blow molding and at $1,460/mt CFR for LLDPE butene.
"US offers to the country are scarce at the moment. We didn't get any HDPE injection and film this week," added the source.
According to the trader, the US blow molding offer was attractive because it was very close of the Asian one and the time delivery was shorter.
"We might close deals with US this week because delivery is 20 days against the 40-50 days time delivery from Asia," said the source.
Asian polymer demand has been weak, even after China returned from its week-long National Day holiday October 1-7. Demand for polymer resins typically increases prior to the holidays as downstream converters stock up.
However, this trend was bucked this year amid low orders for finished products destined for the West. Economic concerns surrounding the eurozone debt issue has affected demand for finished products, say market sources.
Some market participants had believed that buyers were holding off purchasing cargoes till after the holidays -- but it did not pick up in the first week after the market reopened in China.
As a result, other Asian markets -- which typically track the Chinese market -- have been lackluster as well.
