BASF drops Europe June PS price by €35/tonne on lower styrene

02 June 2010 15:42  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS news)--BASF has dropped its European polystyrene (PS) price for June by €35/tonne ($43/tonne) after the first styrene barge contract was settled down by €73/tonne for June, at €1,072/tonne, a company source said on Wednesday.

It was not yet clear what other producers would be aiming for in June, but one buyer said it would no longer consider the rollover that had been proposed for June PS pricing.

The European PS market was finely balanced due to earlier permanent cutbacks, a recent force majeure from INEOS NOVA’s Wingles, France plant, and careful production planning to avoid oversupply.

General purpose PS (GPPS) prices were trading around €1,300/tonne FD (free delivered) NWE (northwest Europe) on a net basis at smaller and medium-sized accounts.

Other producers were expected to make their June plans public shortly, now that the June styrene contract had been settled, market sources said.

PS producers in Europe include BASF, Dow Chemical, INEOS NOVA, Polimeri Europa and Total Petrochemicals.

($1 = €0.82)

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