Southeast Asia PET Market Remains In Grip Of Coronavirus Pandemic And Seasonal Slowdown
- Concern over second-wave of coronavirus dents market sentiment
- Seasonal slowdown hits the market, downstream factories cut operating rates
- Near-term outlook remains pessimistic, a further price cut is a viable option
SSESSMENTS.COM was told that Southeast Asia PET market remains in the grip of Coronavirus pandemic and seasonal slowdown. This week, most regional traders maintained their local offers stable from last week’s levels. In Malaysia, local PET Bottle offers stood between THB3,180-3,200/ton ($741-746/ton) on cash, FD Malaysia basis and excluding 6% SST, a rollover from last week’s levels. Whereas in Thailand, several traders said that the company opted to roll over local offers from a week earlier, between THB24,000-25,000/ton ($771-803/ton) on cash, FD Thailand basis and excluding 7% VAT. In contrast, Southeast Asia’s import PET prices took a breather from their rally after most foreign suppliers started to set off a round of price cuts last week, reversing the firm trend in the middle of June. This week, several traders in Malaysia received fresh import PET offers from a Chinese supplier at $15/ton lower on month-on-month comparison. Meanwhile, early this week, another Chinese supplier attempted to raise the prices by $10/ton from last week as the costs of raw materials drifted higher on post-Dragon Boat Festival holiday, available at $720/ton on LC at sight, CIF Malaysia Main Port basis. However, as the China market started to level off, the supplier revised down the offers by the same amount.
Demand-wise, Southeast Asia PET market continues to face strong headwinds, with coronavirus is still dominating as a key factor in the market, and the region is in the grip of a withering cold spell amid the rainy season. Traditionally, the market is entering a seasonal lull with the onset of the rainy season in mid-June weighed down on downstream demand. As seasonal slowdown hits the market, SSESSMENTS.COM was informed that most downstream factories cut their operation rate to offset current demand. Several manufacturers in Malaysia and Thailand are still running at a reduced capacity of between 50-80% from the normal output. Besides, overall market sentiment remains sluggish, weighed down by market players' concern on the fast-spreading of the highly contagious virus around the globe and the second wave of infections. Detailed information for Indonesia and Vietnam market is available in WeeklySESSMENTS of the respective countries.
For the near-term outlook, the majority of players in Southeast Asia voiced out to SSESSMENTS.COM that the market may remain under pressure as seasonal slowdown hit, and would largely take cues from the domino effect of forthcoming challenges amid pandemic crisis. As such, most traders and producers are expected to make rounds and rounds of price cuts to match the demand condition.
