Vietnam PE market sees further supply-driven hikes, particularly for LLDPE

LLDPE has witnessed the largest gains during this five-week uptrend as the supply for this grade has been particularly short.

As a trader offering Saudi origin LLDPE film at $1270/ton and HDPE film at $1200/ton, all on CIF Vietnam, cash basis put it, “Supply of PE is limited in Vietnam, especially for LLDPE. Hence, offers for August are quite high, and customers are mostly adopting a wait-and-see stance.”

In Vietnam, import PE offers were $10-50/ton higher on the week to be assessed at $1180-1200/ton for HDPE film and $1400-1450/ton for LDPE film, on CIF Vietnam, cash basis.

As for LLDPE film, prices climbed $100/ton on the week, and were assessed at $1230-1300/ton with similar terms. Meanwhile, the weekly average of LLDPE film prices has recently reached its highest level since the first half of April, ChemOrbis Price Index shows.

Growing resistance on buyers’ side

The recent supply-driven hikes have been met with growing resistance from buyers in Vietnam due to concerns over the uncertainty of the spreading Delta variant.

Vietnam has imposed a 15-day long lockdown in the capital, Hanoi as part of the country’s battle with rising COVID-19 infections. The lockdown in southern Ho Chi Minh City has also been extended until August 1.

A trader said, “Import PE prices are sharply firmer compared to last month. The main reason behind this is the lack of PE supply in Vietnam, especially for LLDPE. However, prices are too high to see acceptance, so we are planning to skip this month’s offers. Demand is quite weak as buying or selling activity is difficult due to lockdowns.”