One of the largest producers of polyethylene (PE) in Europe has stopped all sales in the beginning of February and is aimed at increasing the price of EUR100 per tonne for all new sales, ICIS reported a source in the company.

“We have reached our monthly sales and inventories of material are very small,” – said the source, adding that the demand has been very good this month.

price increase of EUR100 per tonne is comparable to the level of January, he said.

PE prices for February delivery on the talks became strained, some buyers complain that the sellers want to improve margins at a time when the proposal excessive.

Rising prices EUR35 per tonne has been widely accepted by many customers, as this corresponds to an increase of ethylene contract price for February.

Retrospective pricing mechanisms on the PE market in many regions means that the final price in most cases will be finally agreed until the end of the month.

According to the price review ICIS-MRC, the Russian market remains a difficult situation for manufacturers of polyethylene. Demand for the polymer is still very low, and in some segments of the demand is lower last year. Attempts by manufacturers to increase export sales did not lead to the desired result. Yes, and besides strong ruble makes exports unattractive. PE excess in the market remains, and this factor continues to exert strong pressure on prices. But some market participants believe that in March, the situation could change, particularly in the high-pressure polyethylene market (LDPE). At the end of last week it was marked as price increases, and decrease depending on the type of PE.