Editor Yu Guo, guo.yu@icis.com

 NOTE: For full details on the criteria ICIS pricing uses in making these price assessments, visit www.icispricing.com and click on "methodology".

Asian bottle-grade polyethylene terephthalate (PET) chip spot prices were largely unchanged during the week ended Friday. Trading activity gained momentum over the week as market players in China and Taiwan returned from their week-long Lunar New Year holidays despite the volatility witnessed in the upstream purified terephthalic acid (PTA) and monoethylene glycol (MEG) markets.

Producers maintained strict price disciplines in view of the uncertainties in the raw material price outlook, said market sources. Although numbers of enquiries and deals concluded showed improvement, producers had no intention to hike their offers as long as upstream prices remained stable.

For feedstocks, PTA prices were $10/tonne at $940-970/tonne CFR China Main Port (CMP) while MEG prices were $5/tonne firmer on the high-end at $980-990/tonne CFR CMP on Friday.

Fibre Grade

In northeast Asia, spot prices for semi-dull fibre grade chips were range-bound at $1,180-1,200/tonne CFR NE Asia. A number of downstream textile producers were still away for the Lunar New Year holidays and would only be back next month, according to market sources.

Meanwhile, in the spot market, offers were heard pegged at $1,210-1,220/tonne CFR NE Asia although sellers agreed that no trades could be done at this level. On the flip side, buyers capped their buying indications at $1,180/tonne CFR NE Asia, and indicated that they were in no rush to procure fresh cargoes.

In Chinese domestic market, spot prices for fibre chip were reported traded at yuan (CNY) 10,000-10,050/tonne ex-work (EXW) as markets returned from their holidays.

Spot prices of Fibre grade chips in India were assessed stable on limited imports as domestic supplies were ample, sources said. No material was reported to have been imported during the week but buyers said that $1,200/tonne CFR India could be a workable price.

Bottle Grade

In Korea, spot prices for bottle-grade chips were unchanged this week at $1,280-1,300/tonne FOB Korea, reflecting deals and discussions. Sellers noted slow-down of trading activity towards the end of the month and would only expect end-users to return next week.

Offers were still pegged at $1,300/tonne FOB Korea although they were met with bids at around $1,280/tonne FOB Korea. Deals were limited as the majority of players would prefer to wait-and-see given the uncertainties in the upstream markets, said one major Korean producer.

In Taiwan, spot prices remained range-bound at $1,300-1,305/tonne FOB Taiwan to capture business and discussions. Producers pegged their offers at $1,315/tonne FOB Taiwan although no deals were reported at that level. Orders started to emerge this week and sellers were confident that demand would get better going into the traditional peak season.

One deal were captured at $1,300/tonne for a 900-tonne cargo headed towards south Asia while another deal was reported at $1,305/tonne FOB Taiwan for a 300-tonne parcel to the Middle East.

In China, buying activity gained momentum as the market returned from their week-long holidays, with one major producer estimating traded volumes totalling 40,000 tonnes in both the domestic and export market this week.

Spot prices inched up $10/tonne at the low end of the price range at $1,270-1,280/tonne FOB China as sellers firmly rejected any indications below $1,270/tonne FOB China.

In southeast Asia, spot prices were also unchanged at $1,280-1,300/tonne FOB SE Asia. Offers were pegged within the published range with limited confirmed deals captured throughout the week. Although demand surfaced after the holidays, most players chose to stay on the sidelines given uncertainties in the upstream markets, said one producer.

In India, PET bottle-grade chip prices also held steady at $1,300-1,310/tonne FOB capturing buy-sell indications. Offers heard at $1,310-1,320/tonne FOB India were met with buying ideas capped at $1,300/tonne Fob India. One major producer was confident that prices would continue uptrend, bolstered by high raw material costs as well as recovering demand.

Film Grade

Spot prices for PET film-grade material were range-bound at $1,320-1,330/tonne FOB East Asia amid thin trade. Market sources said that some players had not returned from the Chinese New Year holidays and limited buying interest has been shown during the week.

Others said that a restriction in obtaining letters of credit in China could have also hamper buying interest and trade during the week.

However, an end-user in South East Asia said that he had pegged buying indications at $1,300-1,320/tonne CFR SEA for a 500-tonne parcel he was intending to purchase over the next week.

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