” A Shanghai-based trader who is offering to the export market at $770/ton FOB, cash reported that they received a bid at as low as $740/ton FOB from a major buyer. “Our supplier found this bid to be quite low and they are reluctant to decrease their offers to this level. In China, average PET operating rates are currently at around 70%. For the near term, we are not expecting to see major changes on prices,” he stated. Export PET prices from South Korea were mostly unchanged from a week ago to be reported at $840-850/ton on an FOB, cash basis. Meanwhile, inside China, local PET prices witnessed decreases of around CNY100-150/ton ($15-23/ton) on a weekly basis. A converter stated, “Demand for our end products is quite slow in line with the ongoing off-season. Hence, we are limiting our purchases to our urgent needs. Supplies, meanwhile, are regular. We believe that demand will only start to improve after the end of the Chinese New Year holidays.”