Styron targets €30/tonne increase for Europe September PS

31 August 2011 15:54  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS)--Styrenics producer Styron is targeting a €30/tonne ($43/tonne) increase for Europe September polystyrene (PS), based on lost margin and a good supply/demand balance, a company source said on Wednesday.

US-headquartered INEOS Styrenics, which produces PS, styrene and expandable polystyrene, has already announced that it will target higher prices in September, also based on weakened margins.

“We have lost a great deal of margin and have a better balance in the market,” said the source at US-based petrochemicals firm Styron.

The source added that even if September styrene contracts rolled over from August, it would still aim to lift PS prices because leaving margins where they are is not sustainable.

Several PS producers said they had lost €100/tonne in margin over the past two to three months.

General purpose polystyrene (GPPS) prices are trading around €1,350/tonne FD (free delivered) NWE (northwest Europe) on a net basis at medium-sized accounts at the end of August. August styrene barge contracts rose by €121–129/tonne, but PS producers recovered only €100/tonne of this increase.

The better balance in the PS market was not derived from better demand, however, but from cutbacks in production as volumes had been slow in August because of holidays.

Most PS buyers have only just settled their August PS prices and are not willing to consider September pricing, particularly as September styrene contracts have not yet settled.

PS is used in the manufacture of household goods, insulation and in the food packaging industry.

($1 = €0.69)

For more on polystyrene visit ICIS chemical intelligence

By: Linda Naylor
+44 20 8652 3214

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