Price information updated to mid-November 2008
Asian market summary by Clive Ong, ICIS pricing
Asian acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) values have been on the downtrend since the second half of August. Spot values retreated from $2,055/tonne CFR (cost and freight) NE Asia (northeast Asia) to $1,985/tonne CFR NE Asia. The decline was more severe in October where spot numbers ended at $1,525/tonne CFR NE Asia at the end of the month. Demand had weakened markedly as demand for China-made products tapered off.
The credit and financial woes spreading from the US and Europe across the globe cast a pall over the exports sector in China. Demand for ABS is expected to remain sedate for the rest of the year.
In November, ABS values lost further ground $1,450/tonne CFR NE Asia as feedstock styrene monomer (SM), acrylonitrile (ACN) and butadiene (BD) prices all collapsed.
European market summary by Stuart Moir, ICIS pricing
In the European ABS market, prices rose in August by around €20-40/tonne, depending on the grade. This was attributed to high feedstock costs.
In September, producers were targeting further increases because of high BD prices, which could, apparently, not be offset by plummeting SM prices. Customers expressed their disbelief at these attempts and eventually rollovers for all grades were negotiated.
Further drops in SM prices induced a more bearish attitude amongst customers in October. However, a slight increase on the fourth-quarter butadiene settlement prompted producers to maintain current price levels, resulting in a rollover.
November posed a degree of uncertainty among players in the European ABS market as there were significant price drops upstream in the benzene and styrene markets. Market participants were talking about decreases of €30-100/tonne, but most settlements had not been made by the time of going to press.
US market summary by Ben Lefebvre, ICIS pricing
Prices of ABS in the US dropped slightly during the three months ended 1 November as slowing demand and foreign imports ultimately offset higher feedstock prices and supply problems.
Suppliers increased prices amid the skyrocketing cost of feedstock BD, but eventually had to lower them again as buyers facing slowdowns in the construction and automotive markets cut their orders. Imports from Asia, where ABS demand had fallen and BD prices dropped considerably, have contributed to falling ABS values in the US.
The tightness in the BD markets also forced ABS producers Sabic Innovative Plastics and INEOS to call temporary force majeure. Sabic lifted its force majeure, although INEOS has kept customers under sales allocations.
Market participants expect ABS prices to continue dropping, although no one was sure when demand may start to grow more robust.