PE Price Trend In Vietnam Persisted For Quite Some Time, Players Foresee Shift In Market Direction
- Import and localized PE prices moved in tandem
- Several factors supported the current PE price trend
- Vietnamese market players are sceptical the current price trend could sustain
On the week commencing May 25, import and localized PE prices in Vietnam were maintained on the uptrend. In the import market, a significant upward price adjustment was captured from the leading Saudi polyolefins producer. On a weekly comparison, SSESSMENTS.COM noted that offers for HDPE Film up by $70/ton, LDPE Film by $100/ton, and LLDPE Film C4 by $80/ton. From another Saudi producer, offers for LLDPE Film C4 increased by $70/ton as compared to May shipment offer. Currently, the offers stand at $800/ton on LC at sight, CIF Vietnam main port basis. Buyer’s bids at $50/ton lower than the initial level were rejected by the producer.
Following the price increases in the import market, traders also adjusted up the offers for localized cargoes. Offers for localized LDPE Film of Saudi origin increased by VND500,000/ton ($21/ton). Likewise, localized LLDPE Film C4 of South Korea origin also rose by VND500,000 ($21/ton). All price changes are compared to last week’s levels. Further added, besides the firmer feedstock prices, short supply on the local traders’ hand also supported the upward PE price adjustments, SSESSMENTS.COM was told.
Buying sentiment for PE resins is improving. Currently, traders have managed to sell two to three times of allocation as compared to the weeks during social restrictions. From the downstream market, inquiries for the end products have slightly improved, but it is not satisfactory yet. At the moment, most converters are running at 80% of the maximum capacity. On the supply front, SSESSMENTS.COM was informed that local traders in the country are currently holding low inventory. Due to a lot of uncertainties in the market, traders prefer to procure on a hand-to-mouth basis to avoid any losses.
Looking ahead, Vietnamese market players are sceptical that the uptrend in PE prices would last for a long time. Once converters are done restocking materials, demand will back to a slow pace and PE prices will be revised down due to the lack of supporting factors, as stated to SSESSMENTS.COM.
Click below to view related stories and content on Vietnam PE:
