Editor Landon Feller, landon.feller@icis.com

Note: For full details on the criteria ICIS pricing uses in making these price assessments visit www.icispricing.com and click on “methodology”.

 Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) sellers in some Latin American markets began pushing price increases during the week ended 2 March.

Market participants in Argentina and Brazil said PET contracts stood to gain $70-120/tonne in March if sellers’ increase initiatives are successful.

This would follow increases of $40-90/tonne in February.

The Argentine seller said March contracts would rise by $70-120/tonne, depending on the buyer.

Other market sources predicted prices would average $100/tonne higher than the posted prices for February.

Brazil’s local seller said it was pushing $70/tonne price hikes on March contracts, according to buyers.

Recent festivals throughout the country were expected to generate a late-season demand boost as buyers refill PET stocks.

Prices were steady in Colombia after posted prices were adjusted down by $40-50/tonne in an earlier report. to reflect what market participants said was the upper end of the contract price range.

Buyers and sole Colombian seller Enka said large customers had February contracts at $1,550/tonne and higher, while smaller consumers had prices up to around $1,650/tonne.

Downward price pressure on domestic contracts followed strong lower import offers for material from North America, sources said.

No information emerged from Chile this week regarding the effects of the weekend’s earthquake on the PET industry, although many facilities were located in areas with extensive structural damage.

Chile’s sole polypropylene (PP) production plant was down and could remain that way for two weeks because it lacks both electrical power and feedstock, a Petroquim source said. The 150,000 tonne/year plant is located in BioBio, near Concepción.

Prior to the earthquake, resin buyers in Chile said PET prices increased in late February as the firmer offers in North America were felt. Recent imports were seen at $1450-1500/tonne CFR by consumers looking to maintain but not build inventories. A buyer had said PET prices were expected to decrease in the immediate term, but the market was likely to be badly slowed in the earthquake’s aftermath.

A resin producer in Mexico said it was too soon to estimate PET prices in March, but agreed the posted range was accurate for late February.

The seller said PET could move up by less than a cent per pound as there was still a need to reclaim margins lost during the cold, slow-demand months of northern winter.

Religious holidays in  late March and early April were likely to boost demand for bottled beverages and plastic preforms, sources said. It was yet unclear if the anticipated demand would generate more orders during March.

Sellers in North America said contracts would not immediately fall, just as consumers had not immediately accepted higher feedstock costs since November.

Following a worldwide drop in feedstock paraxylene (PX) contracts for February, participants predicted flat-to-lower PET costs in March, notwithstanding larger-than-expected monoethylene glycol (MEG) gains.

Mexico's state-run oil and petrochemicals giant, Pemex, announced an after-tax $1.3bn loss in fourth-quarter 2009, compared with a $9.2bn loss in the same quarter of 2008.

Pemex credited better export sales and favorable inventories for an improved operational return.

This week on ICIS news ( www.icis.com):

02-Mar-10 18:26 Chile PP production halted, may restart in two weeks

01-Mar-10 23:20 Mexico’s Pemex reports $1.3bn loss in fourth quarter

01-Mar-10 22:55 US Eastman sues Dak Americas over PET production patents

01-Mar-10 10:51 India’s JBF to set up new PET bottle chip line by Q4 2011

25-Feb-10 20:22 March to be pivotal month for US PET as sellers seek margins