Last week, activity in the market of the European polyethylene pipe (HDPE) was very low, as transactions in November have been closed, but market players expect harmonizing contract ethylene prices in December, sources told ICIS market.

Prices of HDPE pipe grades in Europe were stable in November after a downtrend period in the previous months.

At the same time, and offer material on the spot market was very limited. Weak euro made imported material is difficult to access, in addition, traders noted that any new batch of imported HDPE pipe will be placed on the market at higher prices.

The contract price of ethylene is in December in Europe was finally agreed at EUR30 per tonne below the November at the very end of last week, it did not give the market the opportunity to understand the price trend of HDPE pipe in December.

It was expected that some sellers refuse to tolerate a decrease contract ethylene prices quotes pipe HDPE, while others said that the drop in prices would not lead to any new orders for the month, so it would not make any sense to sell at a lower price .

In this December, there will be more days than usual, and some traders expect that this fact will support the activity in the market. Others see no reason for buyers to delay purchases until January.

According to the price review ICIS-MRC, in January – October 2016, imports of HDPE pipe in Russia fell by 42% – up to 19 tons.. Among the main reasons for the decline in import volumes can be identified growth of its own production in the Russian Federation and reduce the demand for pipes.