​POLYETHYLENE RESIN FLAT IN APRIL.

The Polyethylene market kept its active trading pace supported by a small step up in demand. There were relatively heavy offerings of wide spec railcars, while prime material was made available from resellers looking to dish off a portion of their forecasted commitments. Most PE grades dropped another penny with the exception of LLDPE Film, which managed to hold flat on the week.

As expected, contract prices for Linear Low-Density Polyethylene (LLDPE) came in flat at the end of April. The settlement for the month was not delayed like previous months.

Not to say the settlement was any less contentious, but in the final days of April, producers made the decision easier by deciding to push the proposed $0.05 increase for April to May. Looking at the supply and demand for the month, both buyers and suppliers have good reasons to press their cases.

Buyers push for lower prices was dominated by talk of soft domestic demand, declining production cash costs, enhanced production capacity, adequate inventory level, declining energy prices, and thinning margins at the converter level. On the other hand, suppliers simply pushed back with four Force Majeure supply outages that kept production at a low rate. In the end, the spot market dictated both were correct. The spot market remained flat each week throughout the month of April and into the start of May.