PET prices rise further in SE Asia except for Chinese origin

PET players in Southeast Asia reported that both local and import prices across the region witnessed additional gains this week, except for the offers from the nearby Chinese market. They were on a stable to softer trend this week as demand for Chinese PET weakened in the midst of the new customs and anti-dumping duties on Chinese PET imports in several countries as well as the upcoming National Day holiday. The firming trend in Southeast Asia also remained indifferent to lower MEG prices in Asia.

In Malaysia, a local producer raised its offers to the region by $20/ton to $1100/ton CIF SE Asia, cash. “We see better demand and our supplies are lower. Therefore, we raised our offers,” a company source noted. A converter reported that local PET offers also increased by MYR200/ton ($47/ton) when compared to two weeks ago.

In Indonesia, an agent of a local producer also informed that their supplier’s PET offers to the local market increased this week due to the appreciation of the US dollar.

In Vietnam, a trader offering Thai PET at $1130/ton CIF said, “PET prices surprisingly increased by $20-30/ton from last week due to producers’ limited supplies. Although these levels are found too high to be accepted, we think prices still have room for further increases.”

Another trader informed that they stopped offering for now as their Taiwanese supplier already sold out their October quota. “Demand is weak as players replenished stocks two weeks ago,” he added.

A Chinese producer kept its offers to Southeast Asia stable at $1030/ton CIF, cash basis, although it decreased its local offers given the volatility of MEG prices as well as nearing week-long holiday.

A Shanghai-based trader also informed that their offers to the region softened by $10/ton to $1000-1020/ton CIF Southeast Asia, cash. “Chinese producers lowered their offers this week in order to attract some buying interest ahead of the holidays. Although we received inquiries from Thailand and Indonesia, it is hard to conclude deals in export markets,” he said.

In the upstream markets, spot MEG prices softened by $15-20/ton on a weekly basis to be currently reported at around $880-885/ton CFR China.

In Southeast Asia, the overall range for import PET prices currently stands at $1000-1130/ton CIF, cash. The range is $30/ton higher from last week on the high end while the low end edged down by $10/ton due to a softer offer for a Chinese material.