European HDPE: Trade slows as south Europe breaks August.■ Ethylene Contract settles down Eur70/mt for month■ Despite low demand, sellers continue to sell aggressivelyIn the week ending August. 3, converters,
traders, and distributors in southern Europe began to slow down their
traditional August break activity. Upstream
news reported that the August industry-settled ethylene Monomer contract price
was Eur70/mt lower than the month's at Eur1,425/mt Aug. This was despite an increase in gas prices to near record
highs. Naphtha prices fell near Eur40/mt and other key ethylene derivative
markets like PVC were still under heavy downward pressure due to subdued
downstream demand. As traditional August
break purchases from southern Europe were limited, sellers were still
aggressively offering material while converters throughout the continent were
happy to go hand-to-mouth with minimal stock levels. Distributors, traders, and producers were...