In mid-March 2025, the global polyvinyl chloride (PVC) market exhibited divergent price trends in the U.S. and Europe. European PVC prices remained stable, while in the U.S., prices declined due to ongoing challenges in the housing sector at the time.
In the United States, the PVC market price showed a clear downward trend in mid-March 2025. Economic uncertainties, coupled with the continuous challenges in the housing sector, have led to a weakening demand for PVC in the downstream construction industry. Market participants noted that severe fluctuations in financial markets, the uncertainty surrounding potential tariff policies, and concerns over adjustments in regional monetary policies have significantly slowed down the recovery of the housing market. Although mortgage interest rates have dropped from their previous highs, they remain relatively high, causing homebuyers to hesitate in making purchase decisions. This has directly led to a significant suppression of new construction activities in the short term. From an upstream perspective, the price of dichloroethane (EDC) in the U.S. market remained stable, stabilizing production costs to some extent and alleviating the downward pressure on PVC prices. However, existing homeowners who have enjoyed lower mortgage rates are generally unwilling to sell their properties, further compressing the consumption space for PVC. As a result, the PVC price in the U.S. market continued to fall this week.
Looking at Europe, the PVC market remains relatively stable under the dual pressure of weak demand and competition from imported products in Asia. In Northwestern Europe, although spot prices for PVC have slightly decreased, contract prices across the whole of Europe remain strong. The Anwil PVC plant in Poland, which has been shut down since February due to a fire, has recently resumed production, becoming a key factor in stabilizing the supply of PVC in Central and Eastern Europe. At the same time, the decline in the price of the raw material EDC also provides strong support for stable production of PVC in Europe by mid-March 2025.
However, market participants in Europe still face significant cost pressures. During PVC price negotiations, producers have consistently stated that the continuous rise in energy costs has led to a substantial increase in production costs, severely compressing profit margins, which is their main concern. On the other hand, buyers, particularly those in Northwestern Europe, resist the price increases of PVC and opt to source more competitively priced imported products from Asia.
According to ChemAnalyst, the U.S. PVC market is expected to continue facing downward pressure due to the sluggish housing market. In the coming weeks, the European PVC market is likely to remain stable, supported by balanced supply and inventory levels. However, in the short term, competition from low-priced Asian imports and slowing economic growth may still constrain any potential price increases in Europe.
