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Vietnamese buyers started returning to work after the long Lunar New Year holiday to witness unchanged offers for homo-PP from overseas suppliers. However, the general market sentiment is rather sluggish given the absence of many major players.

Import offers for homo-PP to Vietnam currently stand in the range $1310-1335/ton CIF Vietnam, LC AS term - the highest levels since 2015.

Traders are complaining about the insufficient number of bid received on the first trading day after the Lunar New Year holiday, however remain optimistic about the near term outlook. “Customer might soon accept the latest offers given the lack of cargoes, especially from Thailand and Saudi Arabia suppliers,” a source said.

“Market has been portraying strong resistance since prices reach the $1300/ton threshold. We think buyers might soon have to give in to make fresh replenishment for April production,” another market source added.

Many buyers are holding back on purchases in order to have clearer picture on the demand prospect in the nearby China market, while hoping to obtain some discounts considering the recent weakness in upstream propylene costs. Discussing with buyers, it is found that interest for cargoes above the $1300/ton mark remain relatively low at the moment.

At the meantime, it is less likely that suppliers would concede to any large price cuts amid lacking inventories pressure due to heavy maintenance shutdown season. Market direction would become clearer in the coming week.