- Local PVC prices in China remained on the same trend week over week during May
- Overall demand for PVC is considered good
- Supply for both acetylene-based and ethylene-based PVC was tight
Local ethylene-based and acetylene-based PVC prices in China remained on the same trend week over week during May, SSESSMENTS.COM noted. Although market players expressed concern that the arrival of a big volume of import cargoes could put pressure on local offers, such a thing did not happen until the end of the month. Local ethylene-based and acetylene-based PVC offers were on an uptrend throughout May supported by firmer futures prices, limited supply, and demand conditions. In the first week, local offers for acetylene-based PVC increased by CNY50/ton ($7/ton). In the following week, the offers for the product increased further between CNY50-150/ton ($7-21/ton) while offers for ethylene-based PVC were adjusted up between CNY50-200/ton ($7-28/ton). In the third week, the upward adjustments for ethylene-based PVC offers were more significant, by CNY300/ton ($42/ton) whereas offers for acetylene-based PVC went up between CNY100-200/ton ($14-28/ton). In the last week of the month, offers for both acetylene-based and ethylene-based PVC from several producers were raised between CNY50-300/ton ($7-42/ton). For export, offers for acetylene-based PVC went up by $80/ton in the first week, $20/ton in the second week and $5/ton in the third week of the month. The offers were stable in the fourth week. All changes were on a weekly comparison.
In the import market, offers for ethylene-based PVC from South Korea and India for May shipment surfaced at $50/ton and $30/ton higher, respectively compared to a week earlier in the week commencing May 4. In the same week, deals for Indonesian ethylene-based PVC cargoes captured between $620-630/ton on LC at sight, CFR China main port basis. A source close to the leading Indonesian PVC producer told SSESSMENTS.COM that the producer sold 80% of the total allocation for May shipment to the China market. On May 13, market players reported that offers from South Korea were adjusted up further by $50/ton from the previous week. A day after the leading Taiwanese PVC producer announced that June shipment offers were adjusted up by $40/ton from a month earlier to $700/ton on LC at sight, CFR China main port basis on May 19, June shipment offers from South Korea surfaced at the same level on CIF basis. Due to bullish buying sentiment, offers for this origin increased by $10/ton a day later or on May 21. In the week commencing May 25, June shipment offers for ethylene-based PVC cargoes from the U. S increased between $40-50/ton from May shipment.
Overall demand for PVC in China during May is considered good. Buyers were more willing to make fresh purchases owing to the stronger futures prices. In addition, demand for end products gradually improved, especially PVC pipe supported by the real estate and infrastructure projects. On the supply side, the availability of acetylene-based PVC was limited due to maintenance at some producers’ plants. Likewise, the supply for ethylene-based PVC was also tight due to satisfactory sales. On May 4, the inventory level of acetylene-based PVC in coastal China recorded at 430,000 tons while on May 25, the level stood at 367,400 tons. Xinjiang Tianye (Group) Co Ltd shut the company’s 1.4 million tons/year PVC plant for maintenance that was scheduled to last for 20 days on May 7. Tangshan Sanyou International Industry Co Ltd reportedly conducted maintenance at the company’s 400,000 tons/year PVC plant for 14 days starting from June 9. SSESSMENTS.COM was also told that Xinjiang Zhongtai Chemical had maintenance for 7 days in May, but no further details were revealed.
Looking ahead, Chinese market players contacted by SSESSMENTS.COM predict that local PVC prices will continue to move higher due to the tight supply. Besides, demand for raw material is expected to remain healthy in line with improvements in end product sales in domestic and export markets.
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