SUBSCRIBER NOTE: Platts corrects European HDPE commentary for Oct 4 2017

S&P Global Platts has corrected the weekly commentary for European High Density Polyethylene for October 4, 2017, to confirm the published contract price for injection, blow molding and film grade high density polyethylene. The contract prices was misstated in the October 4 commentary published by Platts in Polymerscan and PCA 272. The corrected commentary is available on PCA 272. There has been no correction to HDPE contract prices. Please send questions and comments to pl_petchems_ln@spglobal.com with copy to pricemethodology@spglobal.com.

- Market looks for direction - Contract price flat

European high density polyethylene spot prices were unchanged on the week Wednesday, with injection, blow molding and film prices assessed at Eur1,130, Eur1,130/mt, and Eur1,150/mt respectively. Contract prices too were assessed flat for injection, blow molding and film at Eur1,330/mt, Eur1,330/mt, and Eur1,340/mt, respectively. Producers were bullish after high September sales. "Our customers are taking material and order intake is going well, we're on schedule," a producer said. However, not all participants were as bullish. "[We see] a lot of resistance to price increases, customers covered themselves, nobody has to buy at high prices," a distributor said. "There is still a lot of HDPE around." In production news, extra ethylene availability in Europe has provided Dow Chemicals an opportunity to plan a new polyethylene plant in Europe, the company's president and chief operating officer James Fitterling said Monday at a press conference on the sidelines of the 51st European Petrochemical Association annual forum in Berlin. "We believe that it's time to invest in PE [in Europe]...We have extra ethylene [in Europe]." Fitterling said, without making any further comment on the timeline or locations. The company is working on setting up a 450,000 mt/year PE plant in Europe but its proposed location is not known. Europe is net short of high density PE by 1 million m/year and linear low density PE by 900,000 mt/year according to Platts Analytics.

RATIONALE: European HDPE injection, blow molding and film prices were assessed at Eur1,130/mt, Eur1,130/mt, and Eur1,150/mt respectively. Indications for HDPE grades ranged from Eur1,120-Eur1,18 0. Platts assessed at the most representative values. Injection, blow molding and film grades were assessed flat on the week as market fundamentals failed to disprove last week's assessments. Contract prices were assessed at Eur1,330/mt, Eur1,330/mt, and Eur1,340/mt, for injection, blow molding, and film respectively, up Eur10 on the month, reflecting rising feedstock costs.