Abstract:
In China, import PVC offers from the US had been raised by $30-40/ton in the beginning of July, which resulted in poor buying interest for this origin for the most part of July as the domestic market was on the decline and buyers were reluctant to secure cargoes with long transit times.
As for August, another increase of $10/ton has been applied for American cargoes with new shipments, which exacerbated the lack of interest for this origin. Chinese buyers have turned to nearby Asian sources to meet their requirements and this renewed buying interest has helped regional producers raise their August PVC offers to the country by $20-60/ton apart from the already improved demand in India. Meanwhile, traders offering American cargoes also confirm that they are not seeing much demand these days.
After losing their competitiveness in Asia, prices of US origin will have a tough time moving higher now and they are set to remain stable at current levels, according to players. Unlike China, buying interest for American PVC cargoes has been satisfactory recently in Italy. A trader sold a good amount of regional cargoes to Italian buyers in July with delivery in August, he said. Italian buyers are now conducting pre-buying ahead of the summer holidays as concerns regarding the prompt availability restrictions are still valid in the local PVC market.
The trader reported that even though they received offers from their North American suppliers with $20/ton increases for August shipments, they are able to offer regional cargoes to Italian buyers with rollovers or decreases of up to €25/ton in local terms because of the appreciating euro. Buyers, in response, continue to favor these cargoes which are to be delivered in late August or early September, when they are expecting to see firmer local prices.
The fact that these offers are also standing close to or even below the low end of the overall local range is playing a role in buyers’ willingness to accept these prices. In Turkey, players have been reporting a good number of PVC offers from the US amidst a lack of import offers from other origins, noticeably absent are European offers while Asian offers are considered unworkable. Recent offers for American PVC indicate a slight increase of $10/ton on the week on CFR Turkey basis.
The sentiment on the Turkish sellers’ side has firmed up in general, which mostly stemmed from the rising Asian markets and diminishing local supplies even though the approaching Ramadan is likely to affect PVC demand. American PVC offers have also firmed up in Egypt by $20/ton on the week. Buyers report that they cannot find lower offers from the country while they are not so happy with these price hikes as their slow season is approaching in line with Ramadan.
Considering that local supplies are sufficient and their end product markets are set to slow down next month, buyers are wary of engaging in import purchases. A trader offering US cargoes also remarked that they are trying to obtain lower prices from their suppliers since even large sized buyers are now making purchases only for limited amounts.