European PVC prices for export to CIS markets steady since November

MOSCOW (MRC)–European polyvinyl chloride (PVC) producers have rolled over December export prices for January shipments to the CIS countries due to stable ethylene, according to the ICIS-MRC Price report.

The January contract price of ethylene was agreed at the previous month’s level, which pointed to steadiness of the net cost of PVC production.

Strong demand for resin also remained in Europe, including from some export markets, and these conditions maintained high prices.

Most producers rolled over December export PVC prices for January shipments, which virtually corresponded to the level of November.

There was a shortage of PVC in Europe during the whole of 2021 because of scheduled and unscheduled maintenance shutdowns and lower imports.

The supply of PVC has begun to gradually increase in the market for the past two months but it is far from being saturated. In addition, interruptions in the work of some producers remain.

In January, European producers were in no hurry to adjust their export prices for the CIS countries and, in fact, maintained them in the range of €1,650-1,710/tonne FCA (free carrier), which mostly corresponded to the levels of November and December.

At the same time, it should be noted that supply of PVC for shipments from the US has grown significantly since December. The key suppliers announced their offer prices for February shipments at $1,700/tonne CFR (cost and freight) and lower.

(€1 = Rb87.12, $1 = Rb76.31)

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