Aug 2023 China PE Imports to Improve M-O-M
According to GACC, China’s total import volume in July 2023 was 1,035.32kt, down 3.88% M-O-M but up 1.36% Y-O-Y. The total import volume in the first 7 months of 2023 was 7,359.58kt, down 3% Y-O-Y. The import volume in July declined M-O-M because the overseas price was higher than that in China’s domestic market, and China’s demand didn’t improve much, attracting fewer imported resources.
In July 2023, China’s PE imports from major origins showed an overall downtrend, especially from the U.S. and a certain country in the Middle East. Meanwhile, while those from Saudi Arabia and Thailand improved. The import volume from Saudi Arabia ranked first, which was 180.8kt, up 18.1kt or 11.12% M-O-M. That from the U.S. ranked second, and it was 156.1kt, down 40.7kt or 20.68% M-O-M, followed by UAE (135.9kt, down 5.3kt or 3.75% M-O-M), a certain country in the Middle East (82.3kt, down 38.4kt or 31.81% M-O-M) and South Korea (73.2kt, down 3.5kt or 4.56% M-O-M).
As for the trade mode, China mainly imported PE via general trade, processing trade with imported materials and stored goods in bonded warehouses. The import volume via general trade was 862.4kt in July 2023, down 5.38% M-O-M, taking up 83% of the total. That via processing trade with imported materials and stored goods in bonded warehouses was 98kt and 57kt, taking up 10% and 6% respectively.
In July, the import volume dropped M-O-M mainly because the purchasing costs of imported resources increased due to rising exchange rate of USD but RMB depreciation. Meanwhile, PE prices in overseas markets were higher than those in China’s domestic market, and China’s demand recovery was under expectation, and may not improve much in the short term. Therefore, end users mainly purchased on a need-to basis in small orders with tepid buying appetites. As for the import volume, the increment was mainly from the Middle East, the U.S. and Southeast Asia. It’s estimated that the import volume in August may increase to around 1,130kt.
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