N America PVC April prices for CIS markets down $200/tonne

MOSCOW (MRC)–Prices of North American polyvinyl chloride (PVC) for CIS countries have fallen around $200/tonne for some shipments in April, compared with March, according to an MRC Price Report.

Crude oil prices fell sharply in March due to both the coronavirus pandemic and the price war initiated by Saudi Arabia after disagreements with Russia in the OPEC+ club of producing nations.

US PVC prices for CIS countries changed fortunes quickly; at the start of March, some sources quoted prices of $910/tonne CIF (cost, insurance, freight), with supply rather tight due to some turnarounds.

By the end of March, however, a drop in demand in key export markets, including India, as well as crude’s falls, forced sellers of North American PVC to adjust their prices.

Due to quarantines in most CIS countries to stop the spread of coronavirus, most buyers have been in no hurry to close deals for April.

The CIS countries are the former Soviet republics of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

MRC, a partner of ICIS, produces polymers news and pricing reports from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.