European PVC producers exporting to CIS mostly not seeking August price hikes

MOSCOW (MRC)–European polyvinyl chloride (PVC) producers exporting product to the CIS markets are not seeking higher prices for August in most cases despite the monthly ethylene contract rising for the past three months.

Negotiations on prices of European PVC for August shipments to the CIS markets started at the beginning of the week.

The rise in the cost of ethylene in Europe has been going on for the third month in a row, but not all producers plan to increase export prices for PVC, according to the ICIS-MRC Price Report.

August contract price of ethylene was agreed up by €21/tonne from the previous month, which theoretically points to an increase of around €11/tonne in the net cost of PVC.

Nevertheless, offers from European producers for August exports to the CIS markets have been mixed. Both an increase in export prices of PVC for shipments in August and a rollover of the July ones are being discussed.

Demand for PVC from CIS consumers has remained at a good level in the last two months due to seasonal factors, while the possibilities of local producers were limited due to scheduled shutdowns and other factors.

The situation is similar in the European PVC market.

Scheduled maintenance and strong demand from both the domestic market and a number of export markets significantly limited supply for a number of European producers. Some do not intend to carry out shipments to the CIS markets in August.

Overall, deals for August shipments of suspension polyvinyl chloride (SPVC) to the CIS markets were negotiated in the range of €665-720/tonne FCA (free carrier), whereas last month’s deals were done in the range of €660-720/tonne FCA.

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