Southeast Asia PS Market Restrained By Demand-Related Factors
- A Malaysian producer set offers at high levels as buoyed by supply
- Demand in the region remains sluggish
- Local PS prices predicted stable to slightly softer
Southeast Asian market players informed SSESSMENTS.COM that the PS market in the region is restrained by demand-related factors. In the domestic market, July delivery offers for GPPS Injection from a Vietnamese producer were kept stable on a weekly comparison. Similarly, the offers for localized Taiwan and Thailand GPPS Injection and HIPS Injection in Vietnam were also kept stable from last week. In Thailand, the offers for local GPPS Injection cargoes were available at THB34,000/ton ($1,093/ton) on cash, FD Thailand, and excluding 7% VAT. Meanwhile, sources in Indonesia revealed that the offers for GPPS Injection and HIPS Injection from the local producer increased by $100/ton on a monthly comparison. While from the trader’s end, the local offers for GPPS Injection and HIPS Injection surged by IDR1,000,000-1,500,000/ton ($69-104/ton) from last week. Further added, a Malaysian producer offered HIPS Injection at a high level between $1,080-1,100/ton to both local and export markets to build buffer stocks for the upcoming maintenance shutdown. As for import cargoes, South Korean GPPS Injection and HIPS Injection offers to Indonesia recorded stable on a weekly comparison. Similarly, August shipment offers for GPPS Injection from a Vietnamese producer were also stable from a week earlier with some deals concluded at $920/ton on LC at sight, CIF Southeast Asia Main Port basis, mostly to the Philippines market.
Coming to the week commencing June 29, demand for PS in the region remains sluggish in general. In Indonesia, players are on a wait-and-see position due to the local currency depreciation against the US Dollar coupled with a drastic drop in demand from food container manufacturers as some switch to PET resins citing lower costs. In Malaysia, sources also informed SSESSMENTS.COM that most buyers are just checking the current price level without any intentions to make purchases. However, sources stated that better demand movement could be seen in Vietnam and the Philippines market, although the procurement is kept on an as-needed basis. On the supply side, there were no issues reported this week.
Looking ahead, some sources predict that local PS offers will most likely remain stable as SM prices only fluctuated within a limited range. While some others opined to SSESSMENTS.COM that local and import PS offers will be stable only when there is no inventory pressure on sellers’ end. Otherwise, offers may move lower around $10-20/ton.
