Local PVC prices in Southeast Asia track imports higher for June

Local PVC prices in Southeast Asia are being announced higher for June in line with the firmer trend in the region’s import markets, as per ChemOrbis. While demand from Southeast Asia and China has been sluggish, strong demand from the nearby Indian market has supported sellers in maintaining a firm stance on their prices to other Asian countries. According to data from ChemOrbis, import PVC prices on a CFR India basis are currently trading with a premium of around US$90/ton compared with CFR SEA prices, the highest premium recorded for the Indian market over the past year. An Indonesian producer has raised domestic prices by US$20-30/ton. “Demand is not all that great, but local prices have moved higher in line with stronger global trends. We believe that prices will remain on a stable to firmer trend over the short term given the strong demand coming from the Indian market, although we feel that the market may step back in August as regional demand should decline during the monsoon season,” a producer source reported. A converter reported receiving local prices with a US$20/ton increase from the past month. “Demand for our end products is starting to pick up as buyers who had been sidelined for the past few weeks are starting to return to the market to make fresh purchases. We may purchase a small amount of material for this month, but we will keep our purchases limited as we plan to suspend operations during the upcoming Ramadan holidays,” the buyer stated. In production news, Asahimas brought forward the date of a planned maintenance shutdown at its 300,000 tpa PVC plant from August to June. Players in Thailand also reported higher domestic prices for June. A converter reported receiving June offers from two different domestic producers with price hikes of THB1000-2000/ton (US$31-61/ton). “Demand from the construction sector is a bit disappointing and we are concerned that the upcoming rainy season will further dampen demand. Our margins are being squeezed as we have not been able to reflect our higher raw material costs onto our end product prices,” the buyer reported. A distributor based in Thailand is reported to have raised prices by THB1000/ton (US$31/ton) in line with their supplier’s price adjustments. “Local availability is limited and our supplier reduced our allocation by 30% for this month. On the other hand, demand is not very encouraging and we would consider giving discounts of around THB500/ton (US$15/ton) in order to conclude deals,” the distributor stated. According to ChemOrbis, buyers in Vietnam also reported receiving firmer June prices from the local market. A pipe manufacturer who reported receiving higher offers from the local market stated, “We are seeing normal demand for our end products these days. Local availability is a bit limited, but our supplier claims that they will not have any problems meeting our requirements for this month.” Another pipe manufacturer added, “We received higher prices from our suppliers for June but our suppliers have indicated that they may not be able to deliver regularly for the coming month.”