Polyvinyl Chloride Prices in European Markets Rise with Increasing Power Costs and Ethylene Prices

The prices of Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) in the European export market for the exports to Eurasian countries have risen amid increasing power costs and ethylene prices. The prices for November shipments to CIS markets were discussed in the range of Euros 1650-1710 per tonne. The export price rose by almost Euros 95-100 per tonne for the shipments in November. The negotiations for the November prices began in the middle of the last week.

The November ethylene contract was assessed to be up by Euros 92 per tonne as compared to the previous month. This has led to an overall rise of Euros 47 per tonne in the cost of PVC production in Europe. With the high ethylene prices, the electricity costs have also been supporting a price rise in PVC. The power costs have been rising for the past few months.

Other reasons for a rise in the prices are disruptions in operations and related scheduled shutdowns for maintenance at several production sites in Europe and low imports of PVC from the USA. This has negatively affected the balance of the European PVC market.

PVC is a polymer which has major application in construction and automotive sector. It is mainly used to manufacture pipes and cables and automotive parts. The global demand for PVC stood at around 43 million tonnes in 2020 and is expected to rise at a CAGR of around 4% during the upcoming year till 2030.

As per ChemAnalyst, “the prices of PVC which have risen in the Europe export markets due to high electricity costs and Ethylene prices are expected to rise for the upcoming month given that the market will face high electricity costs in the back of skyrocketing natural gas prices and reduction of coal supply from China due to shutting down of major coal mines due to flooding.