US PVC maker Axiall will raise its suspension grade PVC prices on February 1 by 3 cents/lb, or as contracts allow, the company said Friday in a letter to customers.
The increase follows a similar announcement from December 3, when the company notified customers that it was seeking to implement a 3 cents/lb increase for January.
The company cited tightness on the supply side in the domestic market coupled with strengthening global demand as justification for the increase. Market participants had previously expected the company to hike February prices by 2 cents/lb.
No other producers were heard to have announced increases for February, but sources said such a move was likely. Many participants appeared bullish on February, with some citing the force majeure on vinyl chloride monomer from Axiall's PHH Monomers VCM plant at its Lake Charles, Louisiana, complex, announced by the company on December 23.
Further support was seen in tightness in the domestic market, strengthening domestic demand in the US as well as in Turkey and Asia. Excluding the January and February price hikes, domestic PVC contracts last settled at 54 cents/lb.
In the spot market, sources this week reported trades done into Egypt at $1,070-1,080/mt on a CFR basis, while CFR Turkey offers were heard earlier this week between $1,040-1,070/mt, with freight estimated at $70-75/mt. The spot price was assessed this week at $970-980/mt FAS Houston.
