SunSirs: The Styrene Market Continued to Rise Last Week (January 26-30)

Price trend

According to SunSirs' commodity analysis system, the styrene market continued its upward trend last week. The average price at the beginning of the week was 7,196 RMB/ton, and the average price at the end of the week was 7,650 RMB/ton, representing a weekly increase of 6.31%.

Market analysis

News: On January 29th, international crude oil futures rose sharply. The settlement price of the March contract for US WTI crude oil futures was $65.42 per barrel, an increase of $2.21 or 3.5%. The settlement price of the April contract for Brent crude oil futures was $69.59 per barrel, an increase of $2.22 or 3.4%.

Cost perspective: During this period, imports of benzene increased, and inventory at Jiangsu ports saw a slight increase compared to the previous period. Downstream styrene production profitability improved, leading to increased operating rates and consequently higher demand for benzene. Positive macroeconomic sentiment was supporting the market, resulting in a short-term volatile but generally upward trend.

Supply and Demand: Last week, styrene supply remained tight. Sinopec Quanzhou's plant restarted during the week, with production expected in early February. Tianjin Bohua's plant was also scheduled to restart in early February. Geopolitical factors led to rising oil prices, strengthening macroeconomic support. Due to the continuous increase in styrene prices, negative feedback from downstream industries intensified, leading to varying degrees of reduced operating rates in downstream 3S plants, thus weakening demand-side support.

Styrene overseas market: On January 29th, the closing price of styrene in the Asian market increased by US$15/ton, with closing prices of US$1,000-1,010/ton FOB South Korea and US$1,005-1,015/ton CFR China.

Market outlook

With the restart of some production facilities, the supply outlook is expected to weaken in the coming period. As of January 30, raw materials and supply still provided support, and it is expected that the styrene market will be more likely to rise than fall in the short term.

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