Plastribution’s Polymer Price Know-How: October 2025

Plastribution’s October Polymer Price Know-How highlights how polymer prices remain under pressure, either due to demand and/or feedstock price reductions. Despite a rollover in ethylene and propylene, polyolefin prices continued to slide under the weight of weak demand and abundant supply. Falling feedstock contracts, including styrene monomer, benzene and butadiene, have added further pressure to derivative styrenic and engineering polymers, while recycled grades also face sharp reductions in line with prime.

In the case of polyolefins, the rollover in C2 (Ethylene) and C2 (Propylene) did little to halt the further slide in polyolefin prices, where demand for both PP and PE continues to be weak and supply bountiful.

Lengthier supply chains are tending to bring greater stability, and even a small uptick in crude oil and naphtha pricing has gone unnoticed.

Other feedstock contract pricing, including SM (Styrene Monomer), Benzene and Butadiene, fell, and this adds further pressure to derivative styrenic and engineering polymer prices, where demand continues to be weak.

Monomer Price Movement

Exchange Rates

€ – 1.16
$ – 1.35
€/$ – 1.17

Standard Polymers

Whilst we are in the midst of K and there are some signs of optimistic thinking for 2026, the short term is a little more subdued. October, much like September, appears to be seeing slight reductions in both PE and PP even without any change in the monomer contracts. Supply and Demand balance continues to be the driver, and with little appetite from buyers, a price reduction is the only lever that can be pulled to try and stimulate sales. There are some potential road bumps ahead with strikes at European ports potentially leading to some delays in arrivals, though there is broad expectation that material already in warehouses is sufficient to avoid any short-term supply disruption.

Tariff position on US imports is still unclear, though it is expected that before the end of 2025, the 6% tariff on a range of US imports (HDPE, LDPE and PP) will be removed. This will probably push down pricing further though US exporters could adjust their pricing accordingly to take advantage of this shift. Seems likely that rationalisation plans within Europe to further cut production will be accelerated.

Polyolefins Feedstocks

Performance Polymers

The UK market for performance polymers remains quiet, with low demand and excessive stock levels. Imports from Asia remain high. As a result of these factors, many European producers are struggling to balance supply/demand and are therefore cutting outputs yet again. With the ongoing weak demand and the global oversupply situation, most polymer costs actually softened further.

The October benzene contract settled at €556/t, a decrease of €22/t from September, the lowest level since January 2021. This was due to continued oversupply in the market.

Engineering Polymer Feedstocks

Sustainable Polymers

Recycled Polyolefins have seen some price reductions in October, mostly driven by further drops in prime pricing. Recyclers face very difficult choices, selling at a loss and keeping the plant running or turning away the orders and paying for an idle plant. The recycling industry is facing incredibly challenging conditions and although supply has dropped recently due to closures and rationalisation, there is still an abundance of material and few customers willing to pay the premium over prime.

Recycled LDPE / LLDPE

Recycled LDPE / LLDPE are dropping as buyers push for the reductions they are seeing on prime of around €20-40 / MT. Some suppliers are resisting but market conditions are very tough.

Recycled PP

Recycled PP is dropping a little in line with prime but some higher performance grades intended for more demanding applications are holding on to September levels.

Recycled HDPE

Recycled HDPE has dropped a little in October as prices come under pressure from falls in prime pricing.

Price Know-How: October 2025 Full Report

Visit the Price Know-How website to read the October 2025 update, which details each market segment and material group produced by Plastribution’s expert product managers.

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Price Know-How, a decade-long trusted resource in the industry, provides essential updates on polymer pricing and market dynamics. This report is crafted by Plastribution, a leading polymer distributor, in collaboration with Plastics Information Europe.

Price Know-How is tailored specifically for the UK polymer industry, unlike many other price reports. They do all the currency conversions, so you don’t need to!

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