Southeast Asian Market Quiet Since Buyers Remain Steadfast In Refusal To Current Offers
- Demand is sluggish, except in Malaysia
- PP supply from a Thai producer is limited
- Market players foresee adjustments on PP offers in the near term
SSESSMENTS.COM was informed that the Southeast Asian market is quiet this week since buyers remain steadfast in refusal to the current offers. Compared to last week, local PP offers in Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines were unchanged. Last week, a Thai PP producer decreased offers for PP Homo Film by THB1,000/ton ($32/ton) on a weekly comparison to THB35,000/ton ($1,105/ton) on cash, FD Thailand basis and excluding 7% VAT. No further adjustments made by the producer up to the time of publication. For PP Homo Raffia, offers from a Thai PP producer stood at THB34,000/ton ($1,073/ton) while another producer offered at THB35,000/ton ($1,105/ton) on 30 days credit term, FD Thailand basis and excluding 7% VAT. In Malaysia, some traders have no offers for local materials because allocation has been sold out. From the import market, offers for PP Homo Film of Vietnam origin to the Philippines for August shipment increased by $25/ton compared to last week’s deals, currently at $1,050/ton on LC at sight, CIF Philippines main port basis. Buyers in the Philippines showed resistance toward the offers as the level deemed uncompetitive compared to local offers. Detailed information for Indonesia and Vietnam market is available in WeeklySSESSMENTS of the respective countries.
Demand for PP is sluggish in most Southeast Asian countries, except Malaysia. According to market players in Malaysia, demand for PP Homo Raffia in the country is quite robust. Slow demand in Malaysia is only seen for PP Block Copolymer. The sluggish PP demand in other Southeast Asian countries is due to unattractive offer levels, sufficient inventory for production needs, and slow end-products demand. SSESSMENTS.COM was told that buyers also prefer to hold procurement activities to anticipate lower offers that might surface later. On the supply side, PP supply from a Thai producer is limited due to the ongoing maintenance shutdown at one of the producer’s PP lines.
Looking ahead, the majority of market players opined to SSESSMENTS.COM that local PP prices in the region, except Malaysia, will drop in the near term because there are no signs of improvements in demand. As for local PP prices in Malaysia, market players predict that the levels for August delivery will remain firm due to a positive demand outlook in the particular month.
