Demand Remains Unchanged, China’s PVC Prices Recorded Further Adjustment
- Local acetylene and ethylene-based PVC prices found support from the futures market
- Leading Taiwanese PVC producer announced offers for August shipment without volume discount
- PVC prices predicted to stable at the current level
Further upward price adjustment in China’s PVC prices is captured within the week commencing July 13 amidst the stagnant demand. Supported by the increases in the futures market, local acetylene and ethylene-based PVC prices increased between CNY50-200/ton ($7-28/ton) as compared to offers in early last week. Except for the movement in the futures market, the anticipation of limited VCM supply stemming from maintenance shutdowns in August to September, and the new investment policy in China also noted as other supporting factors. In the import market, the leading Taiwanese PVC producer has announced offers for August shipment on Tuesday, July 14. As compared to the offers for July shipment, SSESSMENTS.COM noted that the offers surfaced with increases of $20-30/ton. For August shipment, the producer does not provide any volume discount due to limited allocation. In the export market, a Chinese acetylene-based PVC producer increased the offers by $70/ton as compared to last week’s level, at $880/ton on LC at sight, FOB China. The producer intentionally made a notable upward price adjustment as the producer is focusing more on the local market amidst the limited supply.
The further upward price adjustment is on the contrary with demand conditions. Entering the traditional low season for PVC in the China market, it is reasonable to see converters resist the high prices. Due to the flood and high temperatures, the digestion rate for finished products is slowing down. However, ongoing demand reported for PVC Film and PVC Granulation. On the supply front, SSESSMENTS.COM noted that the total acetylene-based PVC inventory in coastal China stood at 260,500 tons as of July 14, down by 15,600 tons from last week. In South China recorded at 43,500 tons, digested by 16,500 tons while in East China, stood at 217,500 tons, increased by 900 tons.
Looking ahead, citing the firm monomer prices and relatively low inventory on the producers’ end, Chinese market players foresee that domestic acetylene and ethylene-based PVC prices would remain stable at the current level or only fluctuate within a limited range. While in terms of demand, a significant improvement in demand for PVC remains off-sight, SSESSMENTS.COM was told.
