A consumer will make a quick and fast choice if they are purchasing a regular product. This decision is made without a hefty investment in time as the value of the item is not very significant. If, however, a consumer needs to make a purchase decision that involves a huge amount, say polymer raw materials, they will run on the available information a number of times. A general consumer decision-making process involves a few steps such as gathering information, evaluating it, making the purchase, and then evaluating the outcome of that decision.
This conventional process has undergone huge changes with the advent of technology. Now, the user has everything at their fingertips. With a click, you can download loads of information about a topic or a product before you make a decision. But the main task is when the information is available in raw form and one needs to analyze it to make the correct decision.
Knowing the polymer prices is significant when making a purchase decision as it involves a considerable amount. Price normally acts as the first impression. Since there are many suppliers in the polymer market and the properties of the raw material such as PVC resin are uniform, the only basis on which the product could be sold is its price. Purchasers are most likely to compare the price with other companies and look for the best offer. Therefore, the price is a critical factor that influences a buyer’s decision. In order to get the best offer, there are certain factors to watch over that determine the polymer prices.
Factors affecting the polymer prices
Crude Oil: Polymer or Polyethylene is derived from crude oil, natural gas, and coal. As a derivative of crude oil, polymer prices move in line with the movement in the prices of crude oil. When the cost of the crude goes up then the cost of the polymer grades such as LDPE, HDPE, and LLDPE prices, is also likely to go up.
Plant maintenance: Regular servicing of the machinery is required in order for the polymer production process to run uninterrupted. Hence, the polymer manufacturers such as Reliance, OPAL, IOCL, Haldia, GAIL, HMEL, and MRPL need to shut down its plant for a certain period of time for maintenance which in turn affects production. It also has an effect on the prices and hence regular polymer updates are important.
Packaging industry: With the growth in the consumer market, the demand for pre-packaged food is also growing. Hence, the need for plastics has gone up sharply. Polymer is the main component to manufacture plastic packaging material for consumer goods. So, with rising demand, PP granules prices will also scale up.
Trade deals: Any re-negotiation in trade deals could significantly change import and export flows. If the trade deal consists of favorable terms aiming to boost the polymer market, it is likely to affect the polymer prices locally known as PP dana price.
Policy and geopolitical events: Various geopolitical such as the current war between Russia and Ukraine has affected the crude oil supply. As a derivative of crude oil, the polymer prices were also affected. Various policy changes such as an increase in import duty on crude oil in turn increase the polymer prices.
Conclusion
It can be tough to accurately predict the change in pricing of polymer, but there are many different legitimate reasons for the fluctuation based on which a historical price trend can be mapped. Since polymers are intensively traded across the globe and highly demanded by manufacturing countries, it becomes crucial to understand the role of factors that affects polymer prices.
Every week, the polymer manufacturers release their price sheets such Reliance PP price list which has to be kept a track of. The regular updates of polyethylene price sheets make the polymer market quite uncertain requiring close vigilance on price change news.