High-density polyethylene (HDPE) prices across Europe continued their steady retreat this week, weighed down by an unrelenting glut of material and buyers who remain firmly on the sidelines. September has delivered little in the way of relief for producers or distributors, as both spot and contract markets confront swelling inventories and lackluster downstream demand.
Market participants describe a landscape where storage yards are overflowing and additional shipments keep arriving from abroad, amplifying the imbalance. “Demand is extremely weak, and supply is abundant,” a European distributor told a correspondent, noting that fresh import parcels are adding to the pressure. “Warehouses are full, and more material is coming in. The gap between what producers want and what the market is willing to pay just keeps widening.”
Even as sellers trim offers to entice buyers, converters show scant urgency to replenish stocks. Many are focused on working through existing inventories rather than committing to new purchases. Traders and processors alike are deliberately keeping holdings lean as the year winds down, wary of being caught with excess resin in a market that shows no firm signs of a rebound.
The numbers underscore the softness. Spot HDPE film-grade prices slid to €955–965 per metric ton FD Northwest Europe, a drop of €30 from the previous week. Blow-moulding (BM) grades eased to €955 per metric ton, down €20, while injection grades slipped to €945–955 per metric ton, off €10. Contract prices followed the same downward path: film-grade contracts settled around €1,550–1,555 per metric ton in Germany, Italy, and France, each about €20 lower week on week. In the UK, film-grade contracts dipped to £1,345–1,350 per metric ton, a £10 decline. BM-grade contracts showed similar weakness, sliding €20 in continental Europe and £15 in the UK.
Additional pressure surfaced at key trading hubs. FCA Antwerp assessments reflected further erosion, with film-grade offers falling to €940–960 per metric ton, blow-moulding grades down to €930–960, and injection grades at €930–950, all representing week-to-week drops of €10 to €30. Ethylene feedstock costs offered no offset; spot ethylene held steady at €675–685 per metric ton FD Northwest Europe, while September’s contract price inched up only €5 to €1,130 per metric ton, a negligible rise against the broader softness in polymer markets.
Sources say some European producers have already conceded price cuts on polyethylene grades for September, while others attempt to hold rollovers, leaving negotiations fragmented and sentiment fragile. Without a decisive uptick in end-use demand, many believe the regional HDPE market is poised for more of the same into October: plentiful supply, tentative buying, and little conviction that a floor has been reached.
