Europe PP sellers manage to keep margin in December

The December propylene contract fell by €100/tonne, and PP prices are falling by €50-80/tonne, buyers and sellers said. The PP market is balanced, with no shortages in spite of several production problems. INEOS’ Grangemouth plant in the UK is under force majeure restrictions, and this week sources said Braskem had declared force majeure from its Wesseling plant in Germany due to lack of propylene from a cracker at the same site. Some other production was restricted because of propylene issues, caused by low water levels on the River Rhine. The PP market is generally balanced and a planned cracker turnaround schedule in 2019 is expected to maintain a level of tightness in the PP sector, but the current series of production issues has not had much impact on the market.