Malaysia producer cuts local PP prices while keeping PE offers unchanged.

A key Malaysian producer shrugged off the weakening trend in the regional PP and PE market to introduce moderate reductions on only PP cargo for November delivery to domestic buyers. 

The latest price list and changes are shown in the following table: 

The decision to maintain spot PE offers stable derived from the strong ethylene costs and the reduced availability, particularly for HDPE grades. The shutdown at major international plants including Thailand’s PTT, Saudi Arabia’s SHARQ, and most recently, Malaysia’s PrefChem has been limiting spot HDPE supply.

“But buying interest is rather weak. Many of our customers are complaining about the lack of new PO for finished goods even though it is the manufacturing season. We are still in negotiations with buyers,” a trading house commented.

The weakening Ringgit against the US dollar somewhat counterbalance the dwindling local demand. Nevertheless, the relentless downward pressure from the regional market might add more weight to the Malaysian PP and PE market in the near term.