Affected by the novel coronavirus pneumonia epidemic, the agencies predicted that the global GDP will grow by 2.5% this year, but now it is revised to reduce 5.5%. In the case of PE, IHS Markit has reduced its forecast for global demand growth of 3.9% in February to a decrease of 0.8%. At the same time, it is expected that the global PE demand will rise sharply in 2021, with an increase of 3.9%, but it can not keep pace with the growth of supply. IHS Markit predicts that from 2020 to 2022, global PE capacity growth will exceed demand growth by 14.9 million tons / year, bringing the operating load rate to the lowest level in more than 20 years.

"Novel coronavirus pneumonia epidemic is spreading, resulting in a reduction in global PE demand. The global PE capacity continues to expand, making the PE project economy significantly changed, especially in low oil prices," Nick Vafidis Nick Vafiadis, vice president of IHS Markit plastics business said.