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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