OUTLOOK ’19: US VCM likely to track PVC prices
Bill Bowen
03-Jan-2019
HOUSTON (ICIS)–US vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) is likely to see prices firm during the first quarter of 2019 as demand for derivative polyvinyl chloride (PVC) rises on restocking activity ahead of peak construction season.
Prices are likely to moderate during the second quarter with some firming again during the third quarter before declining to annual lows on seasonal factors toward the end of the year.
That cycle reflects the typical seasonal pattern for PVC prices.
VCM prices follow those of PVC because almost all US VCM production, more than 95%, goes to make PVC.
US spot sales of VCM have become rare out of the US Gulf as most US VCM is used internally by producers of PVC.
A few structural export volumes are now shipped monthly to Mexico and Colombia through an agreement between OxyVinyls and Mexichem joint venture ethylene cracker in Ingleside, Texas.
That agreement helped push US VCM exports higher in 2017 after several years of export declines.
US VCM producers include Olin, OxyVinyls and Westlake Chemical.
Focus article by Bill Bowen
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