Europe May spot styrene falls $25/tonne

16 May 2008 12:49  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS news)--A perceived wealth of spot styrene in Europe saw May bids fall by as much as $25/tonne in 24 hours to below the $1,500/tonne (€975/tonne) mark on Friday, leaving the market in contango, traders said.

 

Bids for May loading material were heard at $1,485-1,500/tonne FOB (free on board) Rotterdam, down $10-15/tonne on the previous close. A firm offer was heard at $1,515/tonne FOB Rotterdam, down $10/tonne.

 

The market had opened at $1,510-1,525/tonne FOB Rotterdam the previous day, meaning that buying ideas had fallen as much as $25/tonne in a day.

 

A firm June bid was seen at $1,510/tonne FOB Rotterdam at the same time, with offers talked at $1,525/tonne FOB Rotterdam. This meant the market was now in strong contango, with players again attributing this to a weak front month market.

 

Traders attributed the drop to weak end-use demand for products such as polystyrene (PS) and expandable polystyrene (EPS) combined with trading at near-record high values in a well-supplied market.

 

“Europe is only about 5,000 tonnes long,” said one trader.  “But there are no buyers, so prices fall.”

 

The fall was also of concern to producers, some of whom benchmark their monthly contracts on spot prices and upstream benzene, which was maintaining record high levels.

 

“Prices are decreasing,” said a source at one major styrene producer. “It’s a real issue to us that styrene prices are decreasing with benzene so high.”

 

($1 = €0.65)

 

For more on benzene and styrene visit ICIS chemical intelligence

By: Peter Salisbury
+44 20 8652 3214

For the latest chemical news, data and analysis that directly impacts your business sign up for a free trial to ICIS news - the breaking online news service for the global chemical industry.

Get the facts and analysis behind the headlines from our market leading weekly magazine: sign up to a free trial to ICIS Chemical Business.

Printer Friendly