- Limited movements recorded in China PET prices during June
- Demand was healthy in the first half of the month
- PET price movements are expected to follow PTA and MEG prices
SSESSMENTS.COM noted that limited movements were recorded in China PET prices in June. Changes were only captured on local PET Bottle offers in the first half of the month. In the first week of the month, local PET Bottle offers increased between CNY50-100/ton ($7-14/ton) from a week earlier. In the second week, offers from most local PET producers in China were stable on a weekly comparison. Only one producer contacted by SSESSMENTS.COM that applied increases on local offers, between CNY100-150/ton ($14-21/ton) compared to the same period. The increases were made following firmer PTA and MEG prices. In the second half of the month, local PET Bottle offers in the country were relatively stable week-over-week. As for export, Chinese PET producers maintained offers stable on a weekly comparison during June due to unsupportive demand in the export destination countries. The offers mostly stood at $700/ton on LC at sight, FOB China basis. Pertaining to deals, a high number of deals were concluded in the domestic China market at the beginning of the month. On the contrary, market sources informed that deals concluded in the final week of the month were very limited.
Demand for PET Bottle in China was strong in the first week of June. The healthy demand was owing to firm PET prices, limited supply and anticipation for further increases in offers. SSESSMENTS.COM was informed that buyers even placed orders for forward delivery. In the second week, slight decreases in demand were observed as most converters have purchased considerable volume in the previous weeks. However, overall demand in this particular week was still considered healthy. In the third week of the month, PET Bottle demand in China was already weak since buyers had finished doing stock replenishment. The condition persisted until the last week of the month. In this particular week, the market was muted as market players were in a holiday mood for Dragon Boat Festival which was celebrated from June 25 to June 27. No significant supply issues arose in June.
Looking into July, the majority of Chinese market players contacted by SSESSMENTS.COM agreed on a scenario that local PET prices in the country will depend on PTA and MEG price movements. If the changes of PTA and MEG prices are insignificant, PET Bottle prices in China will remain stable as local producers’ inventory level is low. Some others see a possibility for decrements in PET prices since demand for PET Bottle is predicted to weaken when the peak season for end-products ends in mid-July.
