China's PP prices hit five-year high on soaring costs, tightened supply

China's PP spot prices moved higher in the first half of September, with PP raffia prices hitting a five year high. The rally was a typical cost-led, supply-supported phased increase, due to geopolitical conflicts and concentrated plant maintenance. However, real end-user demand did not show a substantial surge.

Polypropylene (PP) prices in China surpassed Yuan 10,000/t in early September, the first time in the past five years, and the uptrend continued. Particularly, PP raffia prices in East China moved higher to Yuan 10,123/t on September 16, a surge of 10.71% against the level in end-August. In early September,