China Morning Snapshot: 22 March 2018

Futures market on Dalian Commodity Exchange remains on the firm notes for two straight sessions. Ending the morning session, PP closed at CNY59/ton ($9/ton) higher to CNY8773/ton ($1185/ton without VAT) and LLDPE added CNY30/ton ($5/ton) to CNY9335/ton ($1260/ton without VAT).   

Thanks to the stronger futures market, local traders are having support to lift spot PP and PE offers by CNY50-100/ton ($8-16/ton) day on day while being able to deplete inventories at a quicker pace.  

Spot homo-PP in Eastern China offered in the range of CNY‎‎‎8650-8700/ton ($‎‎1168-1175/ton without VAT) meanwhile spot LLDPE film in Northern China at CNY9200-9350/ton ($‎‎1242-1262/ton without VAT), all based on EXW China, cash equivalent.

Total PP and PE inventories at major domestic makers’ warehouses reduced 30,000 tons to 930,000 tons as of 22 March 2018. The overall sentiment is enlightened, especially for LDPE film as traders are scouting for competitive cargoes with a positive expectation for the near-term outlook. Sellers, however, are not entirely satisfied with the sales results, as converters remain conservative about fresh purchases.