After hitting two-year highs the we

After hitting two-year highs the week ended Sept. 18, European MEG spot prices dropped Sept. 25 as price fatigue and expectation that delayed cargoes are soon to arrive forced buyers to step back. Following trades seen as high as Eur800 FCA NWE last week, spot offers were by the end of this week seen at Eur750/mt, as consumers were said to no longer be willing to pay almost any price to secure spot trucks. This followed a reduction in US cracker and glycols plant operating rates since the second quarter and logistical constraints following damage cause to by Hurricane Laura in the US Gulf Coast at the start of September. The heightened import delay forced some buyers to tell suppliers to almost 'name their price' Sources expected prices to settle back to around Eur550-600/mt by the November as cargoes from the US as well as Asia begin to arrive in Europe. "The pressure has been lifted off with material coming in," a trader said. "Buyers are reluctant to accept these emotionally driven prices [seen the week ended Sept. 18]. The fear of not getting product is gone." With demand now easing and import product nearing arrival in October, some sources expected truck spot material for November delivery to price somewhere in the Eur560-600 mark. In the bulk market, the impact of the decline seen was even more stark, with indications for barges heard below the Eur700 mark. One trader said 1,000 mt barges were expected to price within the Eur620-650/mt mark, down from the previous-week levels of around Eur750/mt CIF NEW, putting even more pressure on barge deliveries into the Northwest European hub.