In the second half of January 2026, the US Polypropylene market turned to what can be described as a bullish momentum. Polypropylene prices increased by 1.62% in the third week and then increased another 1.06% in the fourth week of January. This exacted a positive 12-week bullish pattern. The rally was initially supported by tightening polymer-grade propylene streams following sporadic cutbacks in mid-January, strong demand for rigid packaging, pre-hurricane stocking and continued draw on pharmaceutical supplies from AptarGroup. In the last week, a 2.5% surge in propylene Gulf Coast PDH outage, together with harsh winter weather triggered Henry Hub gas 15%. Newly announced EPA VOC limits cause short term retrofit downtime, domestic run-rates squeezed, building further upward momentum. Firm automotive call-offs and solid railcar velocity were further signs of strength.
The demand for polypropylene strengthened gradually prior to the second half of January xxxx. Hard packaging converters brought forward pre-hurricane stocking and鈥俴ept strong call-off volume of polypropylene, while e-commerce logistics players leaned towards light mailers. Depleting industry inventories of producers were further being pulled by pharmaceutical鈥俻ackaging from AptarGroup. During the final week of January, polypropylene demand in the鈥俛uto sector remained solid and shippers turned cars briskly. Late鈥侸anuary saw a rather marked tightening in supply. The mid-month cuts on polymer-grade propylene streams tightened,鈥倀hen surged x.xx after a Gulf Coast PDH outage on January xx. Henry Hub gas surged xxx in response to a blizzard on January xx,鈥俵eading a number of Gulf plants to reduce output. Newly announced EPA VOC limits led to retrofit downtime, limiting polypropylene run-rates even more in the short term. Domestic鈥俿uppliers came under increasing scrutiny, but there was not reprieve from the supply-side. Polypropylene...
