BOPET Price Returned to Around RMB 10,000/mt
At the beginning of the week, the offers for general-purpose 12μ BOPET rose by RMB 200-400/mt to RMB 9,810-10,010/mt. The BOPET market broke the deadlock, and the market price general-purpose 12μ BOPET in East China returned to around RMB 10,000/mt again.
In H1 of June, after a wave of production and sales increases in the BOPET market, the order level at most BOPET plants reached around 60 days. The BOPET price rose to RMB 10,000/mt or so, supported by the orders. However, downstream users showed resistance to high prices. From mid-June to late July, although the crude oil price fluctuated at highs, most of the downstream users reflected the weak demand and the slow digestion of the supply. Users were unwilling to continue to replenish stocks amid the high prices. New orders were limited, and most plants mainly delivered the previous orders. Prices of general-purpose 12μ BOPET in East China gradually fell to RMB 9,510/mt. In mid-to-late July, the industry conference was held, which stimulated the market. Downstream users placed orders one after another. The mainstream dealing prices of general-purpose 12μ BOPET at the order scale between 30-500mt were about RMB 9,310-9,610/mt. Some plants received the order volume exceeding 10kt. Early this week, the offers for BOPET returned to around RMB 10,000/mt amid the support from orders.
As of July 20, 2020, the offers for general-purpose 12μ BOPET in East China were about RMB 9,810-10,010/mt, and the negotiation prices varied from RMB 9,610/mt to RMB 9,810/mt based on the order scale. The offers were RMB 200/mt higher than those on the previous trading day. The offers for general-purpose 6μ BOPET in North China were about RMB 14,500/mt, and the negotiation prices were about RMB 14,000-14,200/mt. The offers for substrate, which is used for release film and protective film, were around RMB 11,000/mt.
According to Statistics, the order level at most plants return to 60 days or so after the production and sales at BOPET plants have increased recently. There is no risk that the BOPET market prices will drop in the short run. However, the trading atmosphere turns tepid, and BOPET plants mainly deliver the previous orders. In the coming period, players still need to pay attention to oil price trends, especially the impact of foreign public health events on demand and the crude oil output cuts. The maintenance and restart of PTA and MEG units still need to be focused on. On the BOPET market, the demand for reflective film will come to an end, and its support for the BOPET market will reduce. In H2 of August, 3 production lines with the capacity of 30kt/a will be put into production, so the supply pressure will increase. September and October will be the peak demand season, and the demand in the fields of packaging and printing will improve.
