Europe ABS falls €70/t, December to be even lower

28 November 2008 23:59  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS news)--Acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) prices slid another €70/tonne ($91/tonne) across the board this week in the face of dwindling demand and winter destocking, market sources said.

Market participants said they did not foresee any cause for optimism in the ABS market for the remainder of 2008, with a recovery expected to begin only in February or March 2009.

Compounding natural grade was pegged at €1,460-1,500/tonne FD (free delivered) NWE (northwest Europe), while injection moulding natural grade was pegged at €1,470-1,550/tonne FD NWE, according to global chemical market intelligence service ICIS pricing.

Injection moulding black grade was pegged at €1,485-1,600/tonne FD NWE, with injection moulding colour grade at €1,680-1,850/tonne FD NWE and extrusion grade at €1,480-1570/tonne FD NWE, according to ICIS pricing.

Producers have begun to cut back production, but buyers said they believed prices would continue to fall through December.

Both producers and buyers said they agreed that lower prices would still not stimulate demand.

Automotive manufacturers across Europe said they were intending to have five-week outages over the Christmas holidays, instead of the usual three.

($1 = €0.77)

For more on ABS visit ICIS chemical intelligence
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By: Stuart Moir
+44 20 8652 3214

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