U.S. PVC buyers and sellers disagree on direction of July contracts, with buyers seeking US$0.01/lb. decrease and sellers looking for a rollover

Liling Tan

LOS ANGELES , August 2, 2011 (Industry Intelligence) – Producers and buyers in the U.S. polyvinyl chloride market are disagreeing on July contract settlements as buyers seek a decrease and sellers hope for a rollover, ICIS news reported July 29.

PVC buyers have sought a US$0.01 per pound decrease on July prices following a drop in June feedstock ethylene contracts, which settled down by $0.0175/lb. July contracts had not yet settled.

However, two producers said July talks were still being negotiated and another producer said a recent increase in ethylene spot pricing supported a rollover.

Several U.S producers initially announced a $0.05/lb. June increase but that was delayed into July after June contracts settled at a rollover.

A buyer said successive price pushes in March, April and May totaling $0.11/lb. were all the domestic market could take, given that demand has been soft.

June PVC contracts, as of July 29, were $0.559/lb.-$0.605/lb. for pipe grades and $0.575/lb.-$0.625/lb. for general purpose resin, according to ICIS assessment.

One producer who had sought a $0.05/lb. hike for July contracts has split that into a $0.02/lb. increase for August and a $0.03/lb. increase for September, with other producers also seeking similar rates, ICIS reported.

The primary source of this article is ICIS news, Surrey, England, on July 29, 2011.

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