Asian ABS Market Slips in Early September on Weak Demand and High Inventories

Key Highlights

• ABS prices dropped moderately by grade, signifying a weak trend in the market recording a decline of x.xxx.
• Production loadings fell slightly to xxx from xxx, yet production on a weekly basis remained high at xxx,xxx tons, while inventories rose to xxx,xxx tons.
• Temporary short-term price hikes for acrylonitrile due to supply issues, butadiene and styrene prices remaining volatile, which offered poor cost support.
• Downstream plant production rates were at average levels, with buying limited to order-only purchases and no acceleration in electrical casing use.

The ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) market in Asia showed signs of weakness in the first half of September xxxx, with spot prices falling slightly for different product grades.

The downward trend was driven by a combination of loose demand, stable but high supply levels, and conflicting messages from upstream raw materials.

Going into September, the domestic...