United States Ethylene Firms on Higher Energy Costs and Improved Trading

• United States ethylene spot prices moved higher during the week ending October 17 on firmer energy costs
• Latin American polyethylene demand ran lackluster with buyers running on hand to mouth patterns
• Brazilian antidumping duties on United States polyethylene reshaped regional sourcing flows
• Hanwha TotalEnergies, Petronas Kerteh, and Sinopec Maoming announced cracker and PE unit maintenance
• Braskem continued debt restructuring with 2 billion dollars in creditor backing needed by late November

Latin American and Asian ethylene chain markets moved through mid October 2026 with regional strength tilting in two directions, as United States ethylene spot prices firmed on improved trading activity and higher energy costs, while the Latin American polyethylene chain faced year end slowdown concerns and continued fallout from Brazilian antidumping duties on United States PE imports. On October 19, trade press reports described United States ethylene spot values as having moved higher during the preceding week, with industry sources citing stronger trading flow and firmer naphtha and ethane feedstock prices as the main drivers.

The Latin American picture told a different story. Market reports from the Buenos Aires regional petrochemical conference described polyethylene as well supplied through the fourth quarter, with converter demand running lackluster and buyers purchasing only for immediate needs. Year end destocking and seasonal holiday shutdowns were set to slow regional sales from November, with buying expected to pick up again only in the second half of January. Polypropylene demand was described as weak to moderate on the same timeframe.

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Trade policy continued to reshape the picture. Brazilian antidumping duties on United States polyethylene imports had sharply cut US shipments into the region. Buyers in Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico turned to suppliers in Latin America, the Middle East, Asia, and Europe for alternative volumes. The ongoing United States and Iran tension in the Middle East has further disrupted global resin flows and ironically kept the United States as the most cost competitive source for polypropylene into Latin America despite the duty picture on PE. Braskem's ongoing debt restructuring also kept procurement teams qualifying alternative polyethylene suppliers through October, with the Brazilian producer seeking majority creditor backing by late November for a package of about 2 billion dollars.

The Asian cracker and polymer picture added fresh maintenance news. Cracker turnaround and maintenance announcements from Hanwha TotalEnergies, Asahi Kasei Mitsubishi at Mizushima, Petronas at Kerteh, and Sinopec Maoming's No 1 LDPE unit all surfaced during the week of October 17 to 21, pointing to tighter near term ethylene and polyethylene supply across Northeast and Southeast Asia. Nanjing Chengzhi also started a turnaround at its No 1 methanol to olefins plant, suggesting that MTO based ethylene feed could tighten going into November.

For procurement teams in packaging, pipe, film, automotive, construction, and specialty chemical supply chains, the near term action is to secure November and December ethylene and polyethylene coverage before Asian maintenance season deepens. Brazilian and Mexican buyers should confirm forward volumes with Middle Eastern and Asian suppliers now that United States shipment access is constrained by duty structures. Film and injection molding brand owners should stress test fourth quarter cost models against a scenario where Asian cracker maintenance extends into early November and lifts regional ethylene contract prices by 30 to 50 dollars per tonne.