At least three US PVC producers have announced June price increases, looking to increase June contracts by 2 cents/lb, sources said this week. The initiative was led by OxyVinyls, which announced an increase Monday, and was followed by Formosa and Westlake, which have since announced 2 cents/lb June increases.
Producers Axial and Shintech have not yet nominated an increase.
The increases follow April price hikes of 3 cents/lb, which were announced in late February by Axiall, and by OxyVinyls in mid-March. The April increases were not accepted marketwide.
The nominations did not come as a surprise to at least one market source, who suggested that material would be tight with one producer down in June. But another producer source refuted that suggestion, noting that the outage was planned and inventory levels were substantial enough to meet customer obligations.
In PVC markets, the US domestic contract price was talked at 52-54 cents/lb delivered prior to the announced price increases. US PVC exports continued to march higher this week, talked notionally at $940-950/mt FAS Houston.
