Feedstock, Olefins and Aromatics

Europe Feb PVC contracts rise as sellers seek margin improvement

ICIS News : 22-Feb-13 23:59

LONDON (ICIS)--European polyvinyl chloride (PVC) contract prices for February have risen by an average of €15/tonne ($20/tonne, £14/tonne) in northwest Europe, €20/tonne in the Mediterranean and £10/tonne in the UK, players said on Friday.

Contract prices are at €955-1,005/tonne FD (free delivered) NWE (northwest Europe), €890-990/tonne FD Med and £840-890/tonne FD UK.

Sellers had been seeking rises of up to €40/tonne, but were unable to achieve them. Buyers accepted price increases in spite of the rollover in ethylene feedstock costs this month because of the need to help sellers recover margins, which came under downward pressure last year, sources said.

One producer said its prices had risen by €15-25/tonne in northwest Europe, and by slightly higher in southern Europe, leading to margin levels similar to those of October 2012. However, these are still much too low to be sustainable, the producer added.

Another producer also said price rises ranged from €15-25/tonne in northern Europe, and slightly higher in the south. UK contracts settled with rises of £15-20/tonne, the producer added. Demand has been better in the second half of the month, as buyers had reacted to the possibility of increases in March, the producer said.

A buyer said prices had risen by €5-10/tonne in western Europe, while another said its contracts had risen by €10/tonne. Rollovers to rises of £15/tonne were heard from the buy side in the UK.

($1 = €0.76; $1 = £0.66)

By Glynn Garlick
icisnews.americas@icis.com