Oct PVC offers from Taiwanese major come as surprise in Asia

Players operating in Asian PVC markets have been caught by surprise upon the awaited October announcements of a major Taiwanese producer. The new k67 offers are reported at $1010/ton CIF India, cash and at $950/ton CFR China/CIF SEA, cash. The producer’s new offers indicate rollovers from its initial September prices and $20/ton increases compared to its September deal levels.

Regional players were expecting to see larger hikes of around $50/ton from the producer in line with the bullish run of China’s PVC market as well as the firmer upstream markets in the post-Harvey period.

Following the Taiwanese major’s October announcement, a different Taiwanese producer had to revise its offers down to $980/ton CIF India, subject to $33.62 anti-dumping duty, cash. A trader noted, “The producer was able to conclude deals at $1010/ton with the same terms last week. We think that the major producer’s new offers have caused the sentiment to soften as buyers are now voicing their expectations for seeing lower levels in November.”

A trader in India commented, “Demand is yet to revive given the ongoing impact of the GST implementation and the monsoon season while China’s bullish sentiment has recently been spoiled by softening futures ahead of the one-week long National Day holiday.”

In India, the overall range for import k67 prices was quoted at $980-1010/ton CIF, cash.
A trader operating in Southeast Asia noted, “We were surprised by the producer’s announcement level as we were expecting to see increases of up to $50/ton from them. Regional demand is still not good given the ongoing rainy season.”