Shortage of Nizhnekamskneftekhim PS remained in the Russian domestic market

MOSCOW (MRC) -- A shortage of Nizhnekamskneftekhim's polystyrene (PS) remained in the Russian market, according to ICIS-MRC Price report.

The largest XPS boards producers also felt the shortage of the feedstock.

Delivery times for medium- and small-sized customers may be two-three weeks.

As reported earlier, Nizhnekamskneftekhim (part of the TAIF group) raised its September selling prices of high impact polystyrene (HIPS) and general purpose polystyrene (GPPS) by Rb2,000/tonne for most Russian buyers.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Imports of unmixed polyvinyl chloride (PVC) into Kazakhstan rose in the first seven months of 2019 by 1% year on year to 30,300 tonnes, reported MRC analysts.

Demand for PVC increased significantly from local companies in July under the pressure of seasonal factors, July imports of unmixed PVC were 8,100 tonnes versus 3,800 tonnes in June. Thus, overall imports of resin reached 30,300 tonnes in January-July 2019, compared to 29,900 tonnes a year earlier.

Due to the geographical position, Chinese producers with the share of about 96% of the local market over the stated period were the main PVC suppliers to Kazakhstan. Russia was the second largest PVC supplier, shipments of Russian resin reached 1,200 tonnes over the stated period.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Construction industry in Russia has been showing a decline, despite the active development of construction in the past few years, RBC reports.

The only driver of demand for housing (and the residential segment occupies an impressive share of the construction market - 30-50% depending on the region) remains a mortgage. And in order to stimulate buying activity, the Central Bank lowers the key rate, and after it, banks reduce interest on the mortgage. However, the number of loans issued nevertheless decreases - by 13.2% in six months.

The absence of more or less bright prospects in construction also affects the state of the building materials market. In this segment, a steady decline trend is also observed.

Active development of construction in the past few years was a result of major sporting events - the Olympics and the World Cup. Thanks to them, investments increased 3-4 times a year. Today, world sports are left behind. And despite the fact that development continues (they modernize the housing and communal services, repair houses and roads, build new infrastructure), there will be no and will not be a multiple increase in investment volumes and the pace of construction. At least until new equally global projects appear in Russia.

The Ministry of Economic Development hopes that investment growth rates in the second half of the year will reach 4-5%. In the meantime, they are only shrinking: the Central Bank of Russia estimated the fall in the second quarter at 1.3–1.8% compared to the same period last year. Today, investors are not ready to invest in either construction or the production of building materials, since the terms and prospects for the return on these investments are difficult to predict.

According to the MRC Annual Report, construction growth in the near future, according to experts, is not to be expected. The commissioning of housing in the country by 2024 will fall to 56–64 mln sq meters. m. But at the same time, in 2019, housing commissioning will grow by 5–7%, because in 2016–2017. There were no crisis situations and developers brought out new projects. The real downward trend associated with amendments to the shared law will appear at the end of 2020. In 2018, the demand for polyvinyl chloride from manufacturers of molded products was reduced by 10%, most of all the demand from panel manufacturers dipped - more than 18%.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Export prices for bottled grade PET in Asia last week fell slightly to the range of USD840-870/tonne, FOB China, according to the ICIS-MRC Price Report.

Export prices of bottled grade PET in Asia in the previous week were in the range of USD855-880/ tonne, FOB China.

The margins of PET production in the region remains low. If the current price levels continue for some time, the level of capacity utilisation may be reduced.

Yisheng Petrochemical, the largest producer of terephthalic acid (PTA) in China, plans to launch a new plant with a capacity of 600,000 tonnes/year of PET in September-October. The plant will consist of two lines of similar capacity.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Imports of suspension polyvinyl chloride (SPVC) into Russia totalled 130,100 tonnes in the first eight months of 2019, up by 55% year on year. Imports also increased by 174% year on year to 36,900 tonnes, according to MRC's DataScope report.

Last month's exports of Russian suspension (excluding shipments to the countries of the Customs Union ) were 4,800 tonnes, compared to 21,900 tonnes in July. Shutdowns for maintenance at SayanskKhimPlast and Bashkir Soda Company with a one-month delay in restart led to a major decrease in export shipments. Thus, overall exports of resin from Russia were 130,100 tonnes in January-August 2019, compared to 83,900 tonnes a year earlier.

Indian buyers were the main foreign importers of Russian resin this year. Overall sales of resin totalled 75,300 tonnes over the stated period. Turkish and Polish producers with shipments of 11,200 tonnes and 4,600 tonnes, respectively, occupied the second and third positions.

The end of the outages from turnarounds at two Russian plants was also the main reason for lower imports. August SPVC imports were 10,100 tonnes versus 13,700 tonnes a month earlier, with US producers accounting for the main decreased in shipments (1,400 tonnes versus 8,400 tonnes in July).

Overall imports of material totalled 36,900 tonnes over the stated period versus 13,500 tonnes a year earlier.

MRC