Europe June styrene barge CP agreed down €45/tonne
Truong Mellor
02-Jun-2014
LONDON (ICIS)–The European styrene barge contract for June
has been agreed at €1,360/tonne, down €45/tonne from last month, several sources confirmed
on Monday.
The contract price was agreed on a free on board (FOB)
Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) basis.
A reduction had been widely expected,
following the €71/tonne drop in the feedstock benzene number for
June late last week.
European styrene spot numbers have fallen
in tandem with benzene over the course of May, as a sluggish
Asian market also weighed down on domestic pricing. With no
sense of any meaningful recovery on the horizon in Asia, the
mood in Europe remains bearish overall, as US exports will
continue to arrive and keep the market well supplied.
However, there is talk of at least two European
suppliers going into turnaround over the next few weeks,
which could help curb regional availability, especially if
downstream demand sees a seasonal uplift with the arrival of
summer.
“The feedstock movement is around €50/tonne with ethylene
going up a bit,” said one of the
buyers involved in the negotiation process. “The decrease for
styrene was a bit less on the assumption that the market will
go back up in June.”
Yet other sources were perplexed by the number.
“I thought it would drop more,” said one styrene trader. “The
price is again miles away from reality.”
European spot pricing for June was in the low-to-mid
$1,500s/tonne last week, with May numbers even lower
amid some pressure on the front of the market.
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