Asian PS margins turn negative due to soaring SM

29 May 2006 06:07  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (ICIS news)--Polystyrene (PS) margins have turned negative amid soaring styrene monomer (SM) feedstock values and weak downstream demand, suppliers said on Monday.

The situation is particularly severe for general purpose PS (GPPS). Spot prices were around $1,180-1,200/tonne CFR Hong Kong/China late last week, but spot SM prices overtook those after rising to $1,200-1,220/tonne CFR China

High impact PS (HIPS) margins were being squeezed, with spot prices of around $1,230-1,240/tonne CFR China resulting in a margin of only $20-30/tonne. HIPS suppliers traditionally aim for a margin of at least $120/tonne over SM.

Several factors led to this dismal PS market, said suppliers.

The changing end-user market is an important reason. Cassette and video tapes, which use GPPS, have been replaced by CDs and DVDs which use polycarbonate (PC). The toys industry, another traditional market, is also increasingly using other plastics like polypropylene (PP).

HIPS is usually used for electronics like TVs and radios. But demand for cathode-ray TVs has declined amid antidumping duties in the US, new LCD and Plasma TVs use acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and PC-ABS alloy instead, while radios are being replaced by transmitting devices like MP3 players which do not use PS.

The changing behaviour of end-users has also made it difficult to predict PS demand. With volatile crude prices pushing SM values up sharply, buyers now wait for prices to decline before making purchases instead of buying on a regular basis.

Some sources said buyers had accumulated enough material over the last few weeks and were therefore keeping to the sidelines, while others said orders for end-products had dwindled or the prices were too low to justify buying the resin.

PS suppliers were quoting higher offers this week at $1,260-1,300/tonne CFR China for GPPS and above $1,300/tonne for HIPS in an attempt to improve margins. Demand, however, remained dismal, said the traders.

By: Clive Ong
+65 6780 4359

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