Both the Northwest European and UK recycled polyethylene terephthalate prices remained flat this week on stable fundamentals, but sources were divided in their outlook for price direction into December.
The NWE R-PET price was assessed at Eur750/mt ($803/mt) FD NWE Wednesday, stable for the seventh consecutive week. Seller pegs were heard in a wide range of Eur750-820/mt.
The UK R-PET price was assessed at GBP580/mt ($880/mt) FD UK Wednesday, steady for the sixth straight week. Seller pegs were heard at GBP580-590/mt.
Prices have been flat for over a month with fundamentals reported stable.
"I do not see much change," a UK R-PET source said.
Despite stability in the market reflected in outright prices, the outlook for the coming weeks was mixed.
An NWE R-PET source was bullish about the market in November, pegging the price in the range Eur780-820/mt. He said he saw prices stronger than a couple of weeks ago and, although there was no extra demand, regular business was supporting prices.
A second UK source was also bullish, saying the bottle-grade market may receive seasonal volume orders ahead of Christmas, which would support R-PET prices in coming weeks.
But a second NWE R-PET source was bearish about the market,saying demand was likely to fall in coming weeks as the market will be in off-season. He added that business before Christmas was unlikely to add any extra orders.
Mixed outlook in the R-PET market mirrored uncertainty in the outlook for the bottle-grade market.
In the bottle-grade market, prices increased this week on tighter market fundamentals due to turnarounds, uneconomic imports and firm demand.
A monthly increase in the November paraxylene contract price also lifted prices. PX is a feedstock for bottle-grade PET.
But the outlook for December turned bearish, with sources saying demand may ease. Sources were also bearish about raw material contract prices, which will help bring down bottle-grade PET prices.
The NWE bottle-grade spot price was assessed at Eur905/mt FD NWE Wednesday, up Eur5/mt from last week.
The UK spot price was assessed at GBP690/mt FD UK Wednesday, rising GBP10/mt on a weekly basis.
