European LDP: The monomer settlement continues
to bring down demand.■ The cost of Ethylene drops to Eur70/mt for
the month■ Southern Europe's buyers close down August
operationsThe European low-density polyethylene market was
quiet in the week up to August 3. Participants waited for fresh August offers,
while others were on summer vacations. Upstream news reports that the
August industry-settled ethylene monomer contract price has fallen by Eur70/mt
from the previous month to Eur1,425/mt as of Aug. 1. This was due to the
fact that naphtha prices fell below Eur40/mt in August and other key ethylene
derivative markets like PVC were still under pressure from low downstream
demand and macroeconomic pressures. This was despite an increase in gas
prices to record highs. Sources said that August activity would remain
muted as many traders, converters, and distributors took summer...