Europe January styrene barge CP confirmed at €1,214/tonne

05 January 2012 09:42  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS)--The European January styrene barge contract has been confirmed at €1,214/tonne (€1,577/tonne), up €120/tonne from the previous month, as the initial settlement received further support from players on Thursday.

One producer involved in the agreement said it had initially pushed for a larger increase this month in line with raw material price rises, but conceded that the agreement was a compromise that reflected seasonally low demand in January.

Indeed, one downstream aromatics player had expected a much lower increase of around €80-90/tonne this month.

Another seller said that the rise in raw material costs had to be passed on, but added that with demand not as high as expected this month, any larger increase might slow down consumption.

Wider economic uncertainty in the first quarter of 2012 also figured into discussions, said the seller.

($1 = €0.77)

For more on styrene visit ICIS chemical intelligence

By: Truong Mellor
+44 208 652 3214

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