PET prices firming up in SE Asia

Players in Southeast Asia report that regional PET prices have been moving higher in line with firmer upstream costs, with some buyers reporting that they have become more active in the market in anticipation of further price increases after the upcoming holidays, as per ChemOrbis. Import PET prices on a CIF SEA basis gained US$30-70/ton over the past week on the strength of higher spot PTA and MEG feedstock prices and healthy buying interest. A source at a Vietnamese producer stated, “We raised our prices by US$20-30/ton this week due to firmer upstream costs and strong demand. We believe that prices will continue to move higher over the near term.” A Vietnamese converter manufacturing bottles and caps reported, “The offers we received for Thai and South Korean PET have risen by US$40-60/ton when compared with the past week as costs have increased. We are seeing good demand for our end products these days.” Another bottle manufacturer in Vietnam added, “We received offers for Thai and South Korean PET with increases of US$50-60/ton this week. Although we think that prices will continue to rise, we are planning to delay our purchases for now as we still have enough material in stock to cover our immediate needs.” Prices also gained ground inside the region’s local markets this week. A source at an Indonesian producer told ChemOrbis, “We raised our PET prices to the local market by $40/ton this week and we are seeing good demand. We managed to sell a total of 1,300 tons of material on Thursday. Buyers are pre-buying material for late August and early September as they want to be able to resume their production as soon as they return to their desks after the Ramadan holidays.” An Indonesian converter reported to have purchased 200 tons of domestic PET this week as their suppliers have told them that prices will remain firm after the holidays and they do not want to begin the post-holiday period without any stocks. “After our latest purchases, we have enough material on hand to cover our needs for about one month,” the buyer reported. A source at a Malaysian producer reported, “Demand had not doing well last week but we have seen a noticeable up-tick in purchasing activity this week. We left our prices unchanged this week, but we feel that prices will track a rising trend in the days ahead.” A plastic bottle manufacturer in Malaysia stated, “We purchased some domestic material with a MYR50/ton ($16/ton) increase from last week. We secured material to cover our current requirements and are seeing normal demand for our end products. We believe that prices will continue to move higher after the holidays.”