German Ethylene Market Softens Amid Inventory Overhang and Sluggish Demand
Nina Jiang17-Sep-2025
In early September 2025, downward pressure on the German ethylene market persisted, due to high inventories and lacklustre demand, particularly from downstream sectors. Even with naphtha feedstock gaining some, the sentiment was still largely bearish, because domestic supply remained adequate and buying was still weak. The market maintained a multi-week trend of weakening, with converters taking a cautious approach towards procurement decisions and producers keeping output stable.
Key Highlights
The supply of ethylene remained plentiful, and no major outages had impacted ethylene production.
Inventory levels remained comparatively high, indicating a surplus of ethylene availability.
There was congestion at ports, but there was no major disruption to distribution or availability.
Ethylene downstream demand was mixed, but HDPE grades were the weakest.
As is typically the case during the season, seasonal packaging demand worked to support LLDPE and LDPE applications.
On the demand side, ethylene consumption in Germany was a mixed picture across the polyethylene derivatives. Demand was steady for LLDPE Film, LDPE Injection Moulding, and LLDPE Extrusion Coating, due to seasonal demand for packaging. However, demand was slower for HDPE Blow Moulding, HDPE Film, Injection Moulding, and Raffia grades. Converters were cautious, maintaining appropriate inventory levels while adjusting production levels and not accepting higher input costs with ample availability. The softness...
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