Industrial metals · POL

Polyethylene price

Polyethylene currently trades at US$8,017 per tonne (≈ €6,818 · £5,975) — 12.72% below the 12-month high. Over the past 12 months it has gained 12.08%, with the annual range running from US$6,242 to US$9,185. 24-hour movement is minimal (±0.00%).

US$8,017 / tonne
≈ €6,818 ≈ £5,975 Unchanged 24h 60% within the 52-week range
FX Editorial Team · Data updated: · Editorially verified
Polyethylene (POL) price today US$8,017 / tonne, ↑ +0.00% (24h)

Polyethylene chart

Interactive chart and 30-day overview

7 days
▼ −0.78%
−US$63.00
30 days
▼ −0.39%
−US$31.00
1 year
▲ +12.08%
+US$864.00
52-week range
US$6,242 60% US$9,185
Polyethylene (POL) 30-day price chart — USD, EUR, GBP

The Polyethylene chart shows how the polyethylene price has moved over time. The interactive view lets you switch the timeframe (from 7 days up to MAX), the currency (USD / EUR / GBP) and overlay moving averages. Click any two points to measure the percentage change between those dates.

How is polyethylene priced?

Polyethylene is priced per metric tonne (1 t = 1,000 kg) — the standard unit for industrial and bulk commodities on the London Metal Exchange (LME), CME and major European exchanges. Wholesale shipments move in containers or bulk vessels, typically in 25-tonne or 100-tonne lots.

At US$8,017 per tonne, one kilogram is worth US$8.02. End-user pricing for processed goods includes refining margins, transport and tariffs on top of the wholesale benchmark.

What moves the price of polyethylene?

The price of polyethylene is mainly driven by the cracking margin. PE is made from ethylene monomer, produced in steam crackers using naphtha, a crude oil fraction, or ethane, a natural gas liquid. Naphtha-based crackers, common in Europe and Asia, have higher and more volatile costs because naphtha is closely linked to Brent crude. Ethane-based crackers, common on the US Gulf Coast and in the Middle East, use much cheaper feedstock. Since the US shale gas boom in the Marcellus and Permian basins, ethane has usually traded below 200–300 USD/t, while naphtha is typically 500–700 USD/t. That structural spread gives US PE exporters a lasting cost advantage over European producers.

Demand is dominated by China. Of the world’s roughly 110 Mt of annual polyethylene consumption, about 30 Mt comes from China, or roughly 30%, mainly in packaging film, agricultural film, drinking-water and gas pipes, and chemical containers. China’s construction cycle, agricultural season and the operating schedules of Sinopec and PetroChina crackers therefore feed directly into the Dalian LLDPE contract, ticker L, and global FOB prices. India and South-East Asia, including Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand, form a fast-growing second demand bloc, together using another roughly 15 Mt a year. Europe and North America are mature markets at about 15 Mt each, where growth is shifting largely towards recycled PE content, or rPE.

Over the longer term, recycling regulation is the main structural risk for the PE market. The EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, or PPWR, sets minimum recycled-content requirements for plastic packaging by product type. This directly reduces demand for virgin PE and supports premiums for mechanically recycled rPE pellets. In the United States, similar mandatory rPE-content rules have been introduced at state level, including in California, New Jersey and Washington. Large PE producers such as Dow, LyondellBasell and ExxonMobil are therefore investing in dedicated chemical recycling capacity, including pyrolysis. The PE product mix is structurally shifting towards circular grades. Global PE production is split roughly as follows: HDPE ~50 Mt, LLDPE ~35 Mt and LDPE ~25 Mt.

How to invest in polyethylene?

Polyethylene resin has no direct exchange-traded futures contract on western markets. Physical trade is based on Platts, Argus and ICIS dollar-per-tonne assessments. The only significant futures product is the Dalian Commodity Exchange LLDPE contract, ticker L, which is a Chinese onshore market and is effectively inaccessible to most European retail investors. In CFD format, neither XTB nor eToro offers a PE quote. Polyethylene exposure is therefore usually built through petrochemical equities. The largest relatively focused PE and polyolefin name is LyondellBasell (LYB), one of the world’s major polyethylene producers. Dow Inc (DOW) is an integrated chemicals group with a large PE segment. ExxonMobil (XOM) is also a major PE producer through its chemicals business, including its Baytown and Singapore crackers. Among Middle Eastern and Chinese producers, SABIC (2010.SR — Saudi Exchange) and Sinopec (600028.SS — Shanghai Stock Exchange) are also significant. There is currently no pure polyethylene-focused ETF on the market.

30-day price history

Chart and daily closing prices

Polyethylene (POL) 30-day price chart — USD, EUR, GBP

Daily close

30 trading days

Date Price (USD) Price (EUR) Price (GBP) Daily change
22 May 2026 US$8,017 €6,818 £5,975 ▼ −0.20%
21 May 2026 US$8,033 €6,832 £5,987 ▼ −1.30%
20 May 2026 US$8,139 €6,922 £6,066 ▲ +1.07%
19 May 2026 US$8,053 €6,849 £6,002 ▲ +0.14%
18 May 2026 US$8,042 €6,839 £5,994 ▼ −0.47%
16 May 2026 US$8,080 €6,872 £6,022 ▲ +0.26%
15 May 2026 US$8,059 €6,854 £6,006 ▼ −1.02%
14 May 2026 US$8,142 €6,925 £6,068 ▼ −1.06%
13 May 2026 US$8,229 €6,999 £6,133 ▲ +0.39%
12 May 2026 US$8,197 €6,971 £6,109 ▲ +0.70%
11 May 2026 US$8,140 €6,923 £6,067 ▼ −1.57%
10 May 2026 US$8,270 €7,033 £6,164 ▼ −2.40%
6 May 2026 US$8,473 €7,206 £6,315 ▲ +0.38%
1 May 2026 US$8,441 €7,179 £6,291 ▲ +0.07%
30 Apr 2026 US$8,435 €7,174 £6,287 ▲ +2.69%
28 Apr 2026 US$8,214 €6,986 £6,122 ▲ +0.38%
27 Apr 2026 US$8,183 €6,959 £6,099 ▲ +0.71%
25 Apr 2026 US$8,125 €6,910 £6,056 ▲ +0.96%
22 Apr 2026 US$8,048 €6,845 £5,998 ▲ +1.31%
21 Apr 2026 US$7,944 €6,756 £5,921 ▼ −0.30%
20 Apr 2026 US$7,968 €6,777 £5,939 —

Polyethylene: frequently asked questions

What is polyethylene, and what are its main types? +
Polyethylene (PE) is a thermoplastic made by polymerising ethylene monomer. It is the world’s largest-volume polymer, with global production of about 110 million tonnes a year. The three main types are LDPE (low-density polyethylene — flexible, translucent film and cable insulation), LLDPE (linear low-density polyethylene — stronger films and stretch wrap), and HDPE (high-density polyethylene — rigid, chemical-resistant bottles, pipes and caps). In recycling codes, HDPE is marked “#2” and LDPE “#4”. Both are among the more widely recycled plastics.
How much does 1 kg of polyethylene cost? +
International polyethylene prices are quoted in USD per tonne, usually on FOB or CFR terms, using assessments published by Platts, Argus and ICIS. Based on an illustrative quote of about USD 1,200 per tonne, 1 kilogram of polyethylene costs about USD 1.20 (1,200 ÷ 1,000). This is the wholesale feedstock price for resin pellets, or granulate. Retail HDPE and LDPE products such as sheet, profile and film cost several times more because of processing, packaging, distribution margins and local taxes such as VAT. The exact price depends on grade, including LDPE, LLDPE or HDPE, as well as melt index and flow properties.
Why is there no polyethylene futures contract on CME or LME? +
Polyethylene is a specification-driven feedstock. Each producer offers grades with different melt indices, densities and additive packages, and end-users such as packaging plants, pipe producers and film makers order company-specific qualities. This heterogeneity makes it hard to create a single standardised futures contract, unlike crude oil or metals, where purity and specifications can be standardised. Physical trade is therefore based on bilateral contracts indexed to monthly Platts, Argus or ICIS price assessments. The main exception is the Dalian Commodity Exchange LLDPE contract, ticker L, which operates as a Chinese onshore market, is priced in yuan, and is used mainly to hedge domestic sales by Sinopec and PetroChina.
What is the US ethane advantage, and why does it matter for PE? +
Ethane is a feedstock separated from wet natural gas fractions, or NGLs, and is cheaper for ethylene crackers than naphtha-based technology. Since the US shale gas boom in the Marcellus, Permian and Eagle Ford basins, ethane has generally been available at around 200–300 USD per tonne, while naphtha, which is linked to Brent crude, has been around 500–700 USD per tonne. US Gulf Coast ethane crackers in Texas and Louisiana, including assets operated by Dow, LyondellBasell, Chevron Phillips, ExxonMobil and Shell Monaca, therefore produce with a structural PE cost advantage of roughly 200–300 USD per tonne versus naphtha-based competitors in Europe, such as BASF, INEOS and SABIC, and Asia, such as Sinopec and Formosa. This has made the United States one of the world’s largest net PE exporters.
How can investors get polyethylene exposure? +
Because direct PE CFDs are not offered by western brokers and there is no pure polyethylene ETF on the market, exposure is usually obtained through petrochemical equities. The largest relatively focused polyolefin producer is LyondellBasell (LYB), where about 60% of revenue comes from the PE and PP business. Dow Inc (DOW) is an integrated chemicals group with a Packaging & Specialty Plastics segment. ExxonMobil (XOM) has a large chemicals business. Saudi Arabia’s SABIC (2010.SR) and China’s Sinopec (600028.SS, 386.HK) are also major global PE producers. Broader chemicals and materials ETFs, such as XLB — Materials Select Sector and IYM — iShares US Basic Materials, provide indirect exposure, but it is heavily diluted.
What does the EU recycled-content target mean? +
The EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, or PPWR, sets mandatory minimum recycled-content levels for plastic packaging, with different requirements by product type. This structurally reduces demand for virgin polyethylene, meaning new fossil-based PE, and supports premiums for mechanical rPE, or recycled PE pellets. High-quality food-contact rPE often trades at a premium to virgin PE. Large PE producers such as Dow, LyondellBasell and Borealis are therefore investing in dedicated pyrolysis, or chemical recycling, capacity so they can offer circular grades to end-users.
What is the difference between LDPE, LLDPE and HDPE? +
The three PE types differ in polymer-chain structure and density. LDPE (0.910–0.940 g/cm³) has long, branched polymer chains, which makes it soft, flexible and translucent. Typical uses include carrier bags, film, cable insulation and squeeze bottles. LLDPE (0.915–0.925 g/cm³) has linear chains with short branches and has higher tensile strength than LDPE. It is used in stretch film, agricultural film and industrial packaging. HDPE (0.941–0.965 g/cm³) has almost fully linear chains, making it rigid, impact-resistant and chemical-resistant. It is used in shopping bags, milk and detergent bottles, drinking-water and gas pipes, and caps. In global production, HDPE accounts for about ~50 Mt a year, LLDPE ~35 Mt and LDPE ~25 Mt.
How are gains on petrochemical shares taxed? +
Tax treatment for gains and dividends on listed petrochemical shares or chemicals ETFs varies by jurisdiction; tax-efficient accounts (e.g. UK ISAs or similar EU wrappers) and dividend withholding rules differ, so consult a local tax adviser.

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Data sources: S&P Global Platts — Polyolefins · ICIS — Polyethylene Prices, Analytics and Forecasts · Dalian Commodity Exchange — LLDPE Futures (L) · Plastics Europe — Plastics the Fast Facts