China Morning Snapshot – 31 March 2021

May 2021 delivery contracts for both PP and LLDPE traded sluggishly throughout the morning session, indicating the lack of risk appetite among traders. 

Details on the spot and futures prices are shown in the following table:

Local inventories dropped 10,000 tons from the previous trading day to 805,000 tons as of 31 March 2021. (Correction: Total inventories on 30 March 2021 were at 815,000 tons. The previous Snapshot reported at 845,000 tons.)

There is limited movement in the local ground on the final trading day of the month, though the lethargic futures market casts a shadow on the domestic spot ground, where offers for both PP and PE continue to weaken. 

Although there has been widely expected that local sellers would maintain a firm stance on the spot cargoes in April due to the rapid decline in inventory pressure, Chinese buyers preserve a very conservative stance in proceeding with new purchases.