Asian PVC prices fell $22.90/mt or 2.5% in November to average $879.60/mt CFR Far East Asia, compared with $902.50/mt CFR Far East Asia in October, Platts data showed Friday.
The November average was also down 13.6% year on year, the data showed.
PVC prices were flat at $865/mt CFR Far East Asia for the first two weeks of November, then began to rise mid-month amid concern over tightening feedstock vinyl chloride monomer supply after a fire at Tosoh's complex in Japan.
Tosoh shut its 550,000 mt/year No. 2 and 400,000 mt/year No. 3 VCM plants at Nanyo in western Japan due to an explosion at the complex on November 13. The plants may take at least six months to resume normal operations, equating to a potential loss of 475,000 mt of VCM, market sources estimated.
The VCM/PVC spread averaged $115.85/mt in November, down $21.65/mt from October. Standalone PVC producers typically need a spread of $150/mt against VCM to break even.
As a result, several standalone PVC producers that source the bulk of their VCM requirements from Tosoh have cut operating rates to 60-70% this week, from 70-80% previously.
"We are at a disadvantage compared to those PVC makers who have integrated complexes to produce their own VCM supply from ethylene dichloride," a Taiwanese PVC producer said. "We can only reduce our operating rates or bring maintenance plans forward to minimize losses."
