Price trend:

According to the business data analysis system of SunSirs, the styrene market experienced a weak decline last week. The average price at the beginning of the week was 6,774 RMB/ton, and the average price at the end of the week was 6,716 RMB/ton, representing a weekly decrease of 0.86%.

Market Analysis

News side: On December 18th, international crude oil futures continued to rise. The settlement price for the February contract of US WTI crude oil futures was $56.00 per barrel, an increase of $0.19 or 0.4%. The settlement price for the February contract of Brent crude oil futures was $59.82 per barrel, an increase of $0.14 or 0.2%.

Cost side: The market price of raw material benzene continued to fluctuate at a low level. Benzene supply has decreased recently, but a large volume of shipments arrived from the end of November to early December, leading to a continuous increase in port inventories. From the demand side, downstream benzene production loads had decreased to varying degrees recently. In the short term, the overall supply and demand for benzene remained weak, coupled with weak support from crude oil prices, resulting in benzene maintaining a weak trend.

Supply and demand: Recently, some styrene plants experienced unplanned shutdowns and reduced operating rates, leading to a decrease in styrene production. Downstream operating rates mainly declined, resulting in a month-on-month decrease in the consumption of EPS, PS, and ABS. Factory and port inventories decreased, and visible inventories continued to show a downward trend.

Styrene overseas market: On December 18th, the closing price of styrene in the Asian market fell by $5/ton, closing at $785-795/ton FOB Korea and $795-805/ton CFR China.

Market Outlook

In the later period, the supply of styrene is expected to increase, while low downstream profits will suppress demand. Therefore, the styrene market is expected to show a volatile and slightly weaker trend in the short term..

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