Chinese suppliers adopted firmer stance on PET offers to Southeast Asia

After six consecutive weeks of cutting export PET offers, Chinese suppliers started to adopt a firmer stance now with primary support from the sturdy upstream PTA costs and a bright prospect for the near-term market condition.

Latest offers from major Chinese sellers indicated $20-25/ton hike week-on-week to $1270-1290/ton, CIF Southeast Asia, LC AS term.

“We are under costs pressure. Supply for PTA is tight and though there has been some minor correction this week, we must still increase PET offers in order to protect the profit margin,” a producer informed.

In the meantime, sources believed that the current upward momentum might be short-lived, as downstream demand remains pretty sluggish in August. “We are still carrying some cargoes for the second half of August loading. Overseas customers are resisting the hike and we are monitoring further development before making decision,” a trader informed.

Supply is expected to improve in the region as the new plant started up. “We decided not to rush into fresh purchases to watch out the impact of the latest plastic ban in India on the general sentiment. Meanwhile, local producers are still cutting offers this week,” an Indonesian buyer added while reporting the availability of domestic cargoes at IDR20,800,000-20,900,000/ton ($1440-1448/ton) without VAT, FD Indonesia.   

Exchange rate: USD 1 = IDR 14,437