Lower PVC prices in Asia and a major drop in purchasing of many companies from the CIS markets were the main reasons for reductions in export prices in the United States. North American PVC suppliers announced their offer prices for shipments in the second half of April in the range of USD1,000-1,020/tonne CFR.

 

Last week's deals for shipments in the second half of the month were negotiated in the range of USD1,000-1,020/tonne CFR St Petersburg and Novorossiysk for Russian companies and USD1,010-1,030/tonne CIF Odessa Ukrainian companies, up by an average of USD40-50/tonne from March.

 

Many companies, particularly from Russia, said they were forced to refrain from purchasing resin in the United States, citing both lower prices in the domestic market and in China. Some market participants said companies would resume purchasing, if May export PVC prices in the US were reduced further by USD20-30/tonne.