US Feb EPS prices drop by average of 1 cent/lb

HOUSTON (ICIS)–US February expandable polystyrene (EPS) prices have dropped by an average of 1 cent/lb, market participants said on Tuesday.

The price decreases were largely due to the steep drops on upstream crude oil and feedstock benzene during January.

Some smaller producers are being more aggressive with their prices, a few market participants said. As a result, producers, in some cases, are having to match the prices that are being done by the smaller producers.

One producer said that some of its customers saw price decreases of 1-2 cents, while prices to other customers did not change at all. Raw material costs are also down.

Another producer said that it saw no issues with demand at this time, and that demand was as expected. February demand is up a little from January. Some people may have held off on purchases toward the end of January – in anticipation of lower prices in February.

February is now stable and quiet, following the completion of this month’s pricing process, one market source said. The same process for March pricing will resume around the middle of February.

North American EPS producers include Dart Polymers, Flint Hills Resources, Grupo Idesa, Nexkemia Petrochimie, Nova Chemicals, Plasti-Fab, StyroChem International and Styropek.