Mid-December Pricing Shows Asian PVC will End the Year on a High

Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) price trend witnessed a small gain in the APAC region, owing to the elevation in the overseas offers and limited product availability. As per the latest insights, PVC prices have risen due to improved buying sentiments in the APAC market in mid-December 2022. Moreover, stability in the upstream feedstock Ethylene prices impacted the input costs of the commodity in the third week of December in the Indian market.

In India, restocking activity supported the PVC prices on the higher side in the week ending on 16 December 2022. The market players were making bulk purchases due to the previously bottomed-out PVC market, which led to crippled availability for the product this week, impacting the commodity price trajectory. Meanwhile, domestic PVC producers raised the product prices amid improving buying momentum to attain strong profit margins. Thus, the rebound in the purchasing activities in the domestic market has led to a surge in product costs, and the price of PVC for suspension calendering grade K57 showed an increase of 8.7% in the second week of December 2022 in the Indian market.

PVC prices in the Chinese market experienced a sudden rise in the second week of December 2022 with escalating feedstock Calcium Carbide costs and strong demand in the domestic market. The PVC prices for pipe grade showed an increase of 2.3% and settled at USD 883/tonne CFR Shanghai (China) and stabilized in the week ending 16 December 2022. Meanwhile, volatility in the Crude oil costs in China has also significantly affected the PVC price trajectory in the domestic market.

As per ChemAnalyst anticipation, prices of PVC may further consolidate in January 2023 owing to the surged demand from the downstream construction sector in the APAC region. In addition, expected fluctuation in the feedstock prices is anticipated to impact the costs of PVC. Meanwhile, commodity prices are expected to increase with the anticipated rise in the upstream energy prices in January. Furthermore, market players are likely to restock in Q1 of 2023 globally.