Prime virgin prices are from China’s major virgin polymer websites in Renminbi RMB. The exchange rate is 1 U.S. dollar= Chinese Yen at 6.7980.
Crude oil prices fell about 3 % in New York and closed at $ 73.39 per barrel amid robust U.S. job data that might prompt interest rate hikes which entail high borrowing costs, impacting the global economy.
General prime plastics of P.S., ABS, P.P., and P.E. prices remain stable to weak, and engineering plastic resins like polycarbonate, POM, and PMMA trend higher after the Chinese New Year. Globally, petrochemical chemical companies in Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Jordan, Indonesia, and Malaysia have offered higher prices for polypropylene and polyethylene, from $20 to $60 per ton, on increasing the cost of their feedstocks. It is questionable if downstream manufacturers could follow the increments due to the sluggish global economy. In China, the manufacturing PMI rose to 50.1 January, manufacturing and services continue to expand resulting from the reopening from Covid Zero, and industries resumed their operations after the Chinese festival holidays. Market players expect overseas buyers will soon start to place orders due to the lower shipping rate cost, and the Federal Reserve’s recent a quarter of interest hike indicates the end of the hiking cycle. Hopefully, the factors mentioned above will drive optimistic market sentiments.
Recycled material prices are not necessarily reflecting the trend of prime prices movement as nowadays prime prices are still so cheap that manufacturers might not use recycled materials. Prices of some PVC, PET, PP., and polyethylene off-grade are as low as $800 -$900 per ton, so many factories stop using recycled materials for economic reasons. Ironically, in the U.S., and Europe, recycled materials and post-consumer recycled materials were once sold for a premium but now could only sell for less than what they were sold before. Notably, HDPE, LDPE, PP., and PS recycled pellets were offered at $750 -$800 per ton. Whereas for Post-consumer recycled materials, prices are higher than post-industrial recycled materials but are also half prices of what they were before. Recyclers are now offering recycled materials to Asia, and Asian recyclers are seeking outlets in western countries. The U.S. has been importing PET from the Far East at $1100-1200 CNF Los Angeles. Engineering plastics are the same as general plastics that recycled PMMA, PET, ABS, and Nylon are offered on social media for buyers. During the pandemic, prices have been disconnected between the East and West; now, the price gap is narrowed, resulting from reduced shipping rates and over-capacities of production associated with poor demands. Market players expect situations would remain for a while until China recovers from the economy, inflation is controlled, and the recession is over.
Scrap plastics are affluent in supply from the U.S. and Europe as domestic markets suffer from low prices and low demands. Prices for post-consumer wastes have dropped more than half from last year. However, recyclers might not benefit from the vastly reduced prices as their downstream customers also offer low prices due to a sluggish economy and poor economic activities. Some factories cease to buy or temporarily close their factories until markets improve. Several conglomerates-run recyclers are out of business on poor financial results. As prices are so low, even developed countries’ recyclers cannot financially maintain their operations. The situation of over-capacities is not only in Asia but in developed countries too. Our industry’s future depends on variable prices of crude oil, prime materials, and recycled materials. Additionally, the future of the recycling industry lies in the mandatory use of recycled materials as sustainability programs in our circular economy to achieve environmentally sound waste management.