PVC Market in Asia Ends August Lower as China Construction Slows, Inventories Build

Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) prices exhibited lower trend in the Asian market in the last week of August ****. This drop, which had been expected, has come from increasing pressure owing to weak supply and demand factors, and from the absence of cost support. Following a somewhat stable picture for most of the month, sentiment changed in the second half of August, which saw spot price declines and trading activity deteriorate.

The PVC spot market in the opening half of August showed a mixed trend, where prices fluctuated within a narrow range. This changed in the latter part of the month as several negative factors started to influence the market. One major influence was a lack of cost support from upstream raw materials including crude oil and, to a lesser extent, ethylene, to partially alleviate...