China SM slumps on poor buying interest, high inventory post-holiday

Tina Zhang

10-Oct-2017

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–China’s domestic styrene monomer (SM) prices have slumped on poor buying interest and amid a build-up in inventory after a week-long holiday in the country, market sources said on Tuesday.

Offers were heard to have declined further to Chinese yuan (CNY) 9,950/tonne ($1,500/tonne) on Tuesday.

At the close of trade on 9 October, SM prices declined to Chinese yuan (CNY) 10,050-10,150/tonne, down by CNY350-400/tonne from the closing levels on 30 September, according to ICIS data.

China was on holiday on 1-8 October for its National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival.

Downstream producers had mostly stocked up on SM in the second half of September, when reports of impending vessel restrictions at Jiangsu ports surfaced, a market source said.

“They don’t need to purchase SM after the National Day holiday” causing the slump in SM prices, the source said.

There were market talks that SM inventory in east China have increased by more than 30,000 tonnes to around 89,000 tonnes compared with levels before the holiday, a domestic trader said.

Meanwhile, at least 20,000 tonnes of imports are also expected to arrive at the ports this week, the trader said.

Photo: Packing cases with styrofoam peanuts. (Lippert/imageBROKER/REX/Shutterstock)

($1 = CNY6.63)

ICN

 

Interactive by Nurluqman Suratman

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