Chinese PET plunged in Vietnam; supply seems eased

It is reported that major Chinese producers have slashed PET offers to Vietnam by $45/ton from last week, sending the latest prices to $1325-1330/ton CIF Vietnam, LC AS term while Indonesian cargoes only witness $5/ton reduction to $1420-1425/ton with the same term. 

Improving availability from Chinese suppliers is the main factor steering market lower while the traditional low demand season also has its contribution, sources said. “The intensified trade war between the USA and China put up a huge barrier for Chinese suppliers to export PET bottle to the USA, leading many to divert cargoes to Southeast Asia market. The near-term outlook is not very bullish,” a distributor reported. 

As reported earlier, quarter three is traditionally the slow season for the beverage industry and demand has been dampened further by the weakened local currencies against the US dollar. “It is time for a correction and we do expect other producers in the region to follow suit,” a converter said. The source is also expecting commercial cargoes from Far Eastern Union Petrochemical Vietnam to reach the market in the coming weeks.