Russia PVC December prices stable to soft

MOSCOW (MRC)–Negotiations on Russian contract polyvinyl chloride (PVC) prices for December delivery started last week, with local producers standing firm over the rollover of November PVC prices, according to ICIS-MRC Price Report.

Negotiations on the November contract prices of the Russian suspension PVC (PVC-C) were long and led to a decline in prices. Discussions in December have been held more dynamic; most producers insist on the rollover of the November prices, in some cases, with a slight decrease prices.

The firm position of the producers resulted from their good export opportunities. PVC prices in Asia have remained quite high over several months, having exceeded $900/tonne CFR in November, and they continue to grow gradually. Some Russian producers began to ship PVC in South-East Asia last month, in particular in India, with deals reached $800/tonne FCA.

Deals for November deliveries of Russian K64/67 PVC were done in quite a wide range of Rb62,000-66,500/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT. Deals for K70 PVC were done in the range of Rb64,000-68,500/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT.

Demand for PVC from converters continues to decline in December, many of which are keeping their stocks lean and intend to enter 2017 with a minimum balance of raw materials and finished products. However, this factor did not allow local converters to achieve price reduction in PVC contracts.

The majority of converters had to accept the rollover of November prices. Some converters said that some producers were ready to make concessions provided the volume of purchases like in November or even bigger. However this rebate is minor and rarely exceed Rb500/tonne.

Russian producers intend to hike prices in January, citing good export prospects. However, the fact of the possible price increases in January does not stimulate PVC sales.

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