As stated to SSESSMENTS.COM, an Indian trader has adjusted up its localized PVC offers as domestic demand has not been too forthcoming. India’s domestic markets are not yet strengthening as affected by the Coronavirus outbreak, especially for finished products. This week, most downstream factories are still running at a reduced rate of between 50-60% from the normal output. On the back of unsupportive demand, the trader initiated a price reduction of INR500-1,000/ton ($7-13/ton) for localized Taiwanese PVC cargoes from a week earlier. Although traders still scramble to increase sales to the domestic market, sales from a local producer’s end remain satisfactory for June delivery.
From the import market, the trader mentioned that July shipment offers from the leading Taiwanese PVC producer gained a negative response from customers in India. “We are quite surprised that the producer made the decision to increase the price drastically, citing the firmer energy markets to justify this steep increase. Speaking of the allocation, some sources mentioned that the producer has sold out all allocation to regular customers in India, but we do not think so. From our perspective, the producer might sell out all the cargoes to their sales channels, not to end-users or converters. In fact, prices in the open market have been moving slightly lower this week,” the trader explained to SSESSMENTS.COM.
For the outlook, the trader voiced out to SSESSMENTS.COM that the leading Indian PVC producer might adjust up their offers further by next week following the leading Taiwanese PVC producer’s pricing strategy.
