Vietnamese Buyers Split Into Two Strongholds In Voicing Outlook For Import PE Prices
- Import PE offers in Vietnam continue to soar, localized offers catching up
- No significant improvement in demand for both resins and finished products
- Players voiced out different opinion regarding pricing outlook
As SSESSMENTS.COM noted, Vietnamese buyers have split into two strongholds in voicing their outlook for import PE prices in the days to come. On the week starting June 29, import offers for PE across different grades to the Vietnam market remain at high levels as supported by the firm feedstocks prices week over week. On a weekly comparison, the leading Saudi polyolefins producer adjusted up LLDPE Film C4 offers by $10/ton and kept stable offers for HDPE Film. Some converters attempted to submit bids for Saudi LLDPE Film C4 at $890/ton, or $40/ton lower from the initial offer level and are currently still waiting for the producer’s response. On the other side, some traders have concluded deals with the leading Saudi producer for LLDPE Film C4 cargoes at $890-910/ton, or between $20-40/ton lower from the initial offer level. From another Saudi producer, offers for LDPE Film stood at $1,020/ton or higher by $40/ton on the monthly comparison. Meanwhile, an Indonesian trader decided to divert their cargoes to the Vietnam market on the back of slack demand in their country. The trader managed to sell Middle Eastern LLDPE Film C4 at $870/ton and US HDPE Film cargoes available at Port Klang, Malaysia at $900/ton. Moreover, a Vietnamese trader deduced that the current offers for Middle Eastern HDPE Film and LLDPE Film C4, as well as US and South Korean HDPE Film, all were generally increased between $20-30/ton on a weekly comparison. All import offers are on LC at sight, CIF Vietnam Main Port basis.
Whereas in the domestic market, one of the Vietnamese converters received offers for localized Saudi LLDPE Film C4 at VND23,500,000/ton ($1,005/ton), which is stable from last week’s level. In the meantime, a trader had no choice but marked up their localized offers to keep up with international market trends. On week-on-week comparison, the trader raised the offers for localized Thailand HDPE Blow Moulding by VND500,000/ton ($21/ton). To date, the trader also managed to sell localized LDPE Film cargoes from Thailand, Saudi, and Malaysia at and above VND27,000,000/ton-level ($1,155/ton). Localized offers are on cash, FD Ho Chi Minh basis and including 10% VAT, SSESSMENTS.COM noted.
In general, demand for PE resins in Vietnam remains soft this week owing to the sluggish sales for end-products coupled with buyers’ stance in which they continue procuring on an as-needed basis. Besides, most converters are still pocketing sufficient stocks on their end as of recent and are still objecting to high prices. Furthermore, the anticipation of the second wave of Coronavirus pandemic has added more concern in the market and discouraged buyers from making procurements. On the supply side, no significant issues reported to SSESSMENTS.COM this week.
For the outlook, Vietnamese market players voiced out distinct opinions to SSESSMENTS.COM, particularly regarding pricing outlook. Some players believe that import PE prices will remain firm or even move further higher as driven by the firm crude oil and feedstocks prices. On the contrary, some others believe that the uptrend will not be long-lived considering the current and the upcoming state of demand that is expected to remain weak.
