Southeast Asia PP Market Flat As Most Buyers Remain Reluctant To Purchase Materials
- Local PP prices in most countries within the region move in tandem
- PP resins demand remains flat
- Players expressed different outlook for pricing
Overall, Southeast Asia PP market is flat this week as most buyers remain reluctant to purchase materials. Market players in Thailand informed SSESSMENTS.COM that local PP offers maintained stable from last week. PP Homo Film and PP Homo Injection stood at THB36,000-37,000/ton ($1,140-1,171/ton) and THB35,500/ton ($1,124/ton), respectively. Meanwhile, PP Homo Raffia offers stood at THB35,000-36,000/ton ($1,108-1,140/ton). All on cash, FD basis and excluding 7% VAT. There were no deals reported so far, but market players opined that deals for PP Homo Raffia might be between THB2,000-2,500/ton ($63-79/ton) lower on the low-end level of the price range. In Malaysia and the Philippines, no changes were reported by market players on local PP prices over the week. In the import market, a Middle Eastern producer shared on finalizing deals for PP Copolymer grades at $1,040/ton on LC at sight, CIF Southeast Asia Main Port basis last week. The producer further added that the company was unwilling to accept bids below $1,040/ton-level as it was too low. Detailed information for Indonesia and Vietnam market is available in WeeklySSESSMENTS of the respective countries.
Both domestic and import demand in Southeast Asia PP market remains flat this week. A trader in Thailand shared that buyers were only showing interest in PP Homo Raffia grade, while demand for Injection and Copolymer grades remains slow. SSESSMENTS.COM noted there is no support for manufacturers to stock up more materials as they still have some hard situations on their sales with expectation for them to come back to the market in mid-August. Meanwhile, a Malaysian manufacturer pointed out that local demand remains weak, but the export market is showing positive development. On the production side, Thailand’s IRPC shut its PP line no. 4 with a capacity of 160,000 tons/year for 45 day-maintenance starting from June 29. While the producer’s PP line no. 3 with a capacity of 225,000 tons/year has resumed operation on June 26. More added, supply for PP Homo Film from IRPC remains limited.
For pricing outlook, a Middle Eastern producer told SSESSMENTS.COM that the possibility of import PP Homo Raffia prices in Southeast Asia to move lower remains thin in the days to come citing supply shortage. On the other hand, Thai players commented that the downtrend in ethylene price this week can impact polymers price within two weeks. Also, Southeast Asia PP market will follow the trend happening in the China market, which is slightly softer this week. Demand-wise, gradual improvement expected by a Malaysian manufacturer since most businesses in Malaysia are already running at 90%.
