US PVC prices falter in global markets

Pressure has built on US PVC producers’ prices to export markets amid globally weak demand and the lack of supply issues. A major Taiwanese producer’s sharp price cuts to China and India have also dented the outlook for US PVC.

Outages fail to curb export inventories

PVC turnarounds at Shintech and Westlake’s US plants seem to have failed to reduce the export volume availability. This was mostly attributed to the persistently weak demand in global markets as well as the domestic PVC market.

Competitive offers surface in China

Following the Taiwanese producer’s unexpectedly lower offers, American PVC prices moved lower in the China’s import markets and saw a weekly decrease of $50/ton for the week ended March 22, forming the low end of the price ranges.

US PVC poised to extend losses in Egypt

In Egypt, where the US material is the main supply source for the import PVC market, the weekly average of import PVC prices in Egypt has declined by almost 10% since the start of March.

An agent stated that they were expecting further decreases. Another distributor offering on behalf of a US producer stated, “Supplies are comfortable and sellers are willing to negotiate their offers down.”

Turkish market also feels downward pressure

PVC players in Turkey also agreed that American PVC prices are set to be weighed by lower Asian prices. The weak sentiment for US PVC offers has also been exacerbated by the upcoming elections in the country. 

Influx of US material weighs on European markets

In Europe, players reported that there has been an increased number of offers from the US producers and added that the supply availability is currently higher when compared to the first months of 2019. 

According to statistics from Global Trade Tracker (GTT) PVC imports from the US to the EU doubled last year. Italy had the largest share of US material, with imports tripling from a year earlier while it was followed by the UK.