Vinyls - Vinyls global monthly market overview July 2019

In the US, producers aiming to add 2 cents per pound to June contracts have had mixed results. Many contracts appear to have yet to settle, and like the April price decrease, it may come down to the wire. Adding ammunition for buyers, June demand numbers reported by the ACC proved underwhelming and year-to-date demand has now fallen behind 2018 by about 4%. Adding ammunition to producers, US production was also lower on Westlake's Plaquemine outage. Globally, the story is much the same. While supply side fundamentals seem to support prices over the medium term, a general malaise seems to have gripped demand for PVC. Softer demand, affected more by macro-economic factors than anything else, has recently limited any upside to price markers. Unplanned outages and added caustic demand in Brazil - pointed to as a market stimulant likely to support both caustic soda and EDC / PVC prices - have thus far had little material impact on global export prices.