December PP offers or sell ideas have started to be revealed on a stable to soft note in China, as per the pricing service of ChemOrbis. While the import market is shaping up for next month, sellers report that buying interest for import PP cargoes is sluggish as more attractive PP prices are obtainable in the domestic market.
Several producers from Saudi Arabia have approached the PP market mostly with rollovers from last month. A source from a major regional supplier told ChemOrbis, “We are receiving bids standing at least $30/ton below our new prices.” A regional producer who applied a small decrease of $10/ton for December commented, “We have agreed to consent to a modest price cut in order to attract buying interest and conclude deals as buyers prefer to stay away from the market in anticipation of price decreases.”
Another trader in Shanghai also complained that their import business is proceeding slowly due to competitive local prices. “The PP raffia prices we received from overseas producers are generally above the $1400/ton CFR China threshold this week. Producers are diverting some of their allocations to other global markets rather than lowering their prices to China.” A trader in Cixi also stated that they reduced their Indian PP raffia prices by a slight amount this week while adding that they are still facing difficulty concluding deals as buyers are showing greater interest in more attractive domestic materials.
“However, we believe that import prices are not likely to post any significant reductions over the short term as import availability is tight,” the trader commented. Another trader based in Shantou purchased some Saudi Arabian cargoes this week for December shipment at a rollover from November. “Our supplier does not have much material. We don’t think that import prices will drop substantially in the near term due to the limited supply,” he commented.
