Weekly PVC Overview - Week 29 – 2018

August shipment offers emerged with increases, acceptance mixed 

In Asia, major Taiwanese producer announced August shipment offers for PVC at $30/ton hike month on month, sending latest prices to $960/ton to China and Southeast Asia and at $990/ton to India, all based on CIF/CFR term. While the development met some players’ expectation, especially from China, most other buyers in the region remain neutral about fresh replenishment at latest levels.

In India, the general market responds towards the latest price hike is rather mixed. While there have been reports that Taiwanese major sold out all available allocation to this market very shortly after the price announcement, most other suppliers are complaining about the inability to attract buying interest. 

“South Korean producer only implemented $10/ton increased month on month and we are unable to sell even 500 tons quantity. Demand is not strong while long distance cargoes from Russia, Ukraine, and Brazil are widely available at discounted prices,” a distributor for South Korean material said.

Meanwhile, Southeast Asian buyers are portraying a high level of reluctance in accepting the latest prices citing weak demand in the domestic ground. “We have just procured some quantity in the previous week at $910/ton CIF Vietnam, LC AS term from a Taiwanese maker and unable to accede to the latest hike. It is the monsoon season in Vietnam and therefore, demand is softer a little now,” a Vietnamese converter said while adding that local prices firmed up approximate VND200,000/ton ($9/ton) due to the exchange rate. 

In contrast, China market appears to be more active as reported earlier that tightening local supply amid the traditional high demand season might encourage buyers here to seek alternative materials. “The sharp depreciation of the Chinese Yuan against the US dollar has limited the purchasing interest for import materials to a certain extent, however, we remain optimistic about the near-term outlook,” a trader commented.

A number of carbide-based PVC in the country is forced to lower operation rate amid stringent environmental regulations and lack of carbide feedstock supply. In the meantime, buyers might become more cautious about in-taking USA materials when the escalated trade tension between the two countries remain the focus of the market.