Italy’s PVC market witnesses first downturn in 5 months

06-Aug-15

Players in Italy report that PVC prices are moving lower for the first time in five months in accordance with the lower ethylene settlement and improved availability following the restart of some PVC plants in the region. According to data from ChemOrbis Price Index, PVC k67 prices on an FD North Italy basis are beginning to lose ground following an extended period of price increases beginning in March of this year, which saw prices rise by a cumulative amount of more than €330/ton from March to July A distributor said that they received initial August offers from a Central European supplier with €30/ton decreases from July while adding that they expect to receive similar reductions from a West European supplier soon. “We expect reductions of €30-35/ton to pass on deals while we anticipate additional price cuts in September given softer upstream costs,” the distributor added. A PVC compounder said that they received offers for Central European material with €35/ton decreases from July. “We are planning to purchase in very limited amounts as we will leave the office for holidays soon and will not return to our desks until the end of the month,” the compounder stated. Another compounder reported concluding deals with a West European supplier with €35/ton reductions for August. “We found these levels to be competitive and went ahead and secured our needs for August. We purchased only a limited amount of material this month as activity will be slow due to the summer holidays,” the compounder commented. A pipe manufacturer said that they received offers for West European with a €35/ton decrease while they purchased some American material at a price they believed to be more competitive. “We think that prices for West European origins will see further decreases in late August or early September which will bring local prices more into line with offers for imported material,” the buyer commented As per ChemOrbis pricing service, a trader said that they are offering Central European cargoes with €30-35/ton reductions from last month, adding that prices are moving lower in spite of the fact that availability is still a bit limited as Poland’s Anwil only recently lifted a force majeure from their plant