Asia ABS surges to new high on buoyant crude

17 March 2008 03:13  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (ICIS news)--Acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) resin prices may soar above $1,900/tonne (€1,216/tonne) CFR (cost and freight) China in April if high feedstock costs persist, an Asian producer said on Monday.

 

Record crude numbers above $111/bbl recently have bolstered styrene monomer (SM) and acrylonitrile (ACN) values. Both chemicals are used in the production of ABS resins.

 

Chinese demand for the resin has also started to pick up in March as factories have ramped up production after the Lunar New Year holidays.

 

“Demand for ABS will probably strengthen further in April as operating rates at factories will be increased,” said traders.

 

ABS sellers believed that there was a further upside potential to prices in the weeks ahead, given that the high prices of crude and raw material seemed unlikely to ease anytime soon.

 

ABS resin prices breached the $1,800/tonne level in mid-March amid buoyant crude and heightened feedstock costs, sellers and traders said.

 

ABS values rose to $1,790-1,820/tonne in mid-March, breaching the $1,800/tonne barrier after touching it briefly in November 2007.

 

Last November, ABS prices hit a 12-year high at $1,760-1,800/tonne but have since retreated from that level. However, recent gains in energy and feedstock numbers have once again propelled prices beyond $1,800/tonne.

 

($1 = €0.64)

By: Clive Ong
+65 6780 4359

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