Polystyrene Price Rises in the European Region in Line With Feedstock Styrene

This week, higher feedstock Styrene Monomer prices have driven the price of Polystyrene in the European region. As destocking and production cuts come to an end during this week, hence prices are on a stable trajectory. Styrene and other co-polymer prices are recovering in the global market due to prolonged inflation pressure and fluctuations in raw material prices. Styrene prices moved upwards again at the start of the year after spot quotations rose strongly and the upstream, benzene, became significantly more expensive.

A European giant, Trinseo, has declared that it will increase the price of Polystyrene by USD 173/MT with immediate effect in January 2023. Following the contract price increase for Styrene Monomer in January, which was USD 124/MT, the General-Purpose Polystyrene (GPPS) price has increased for both the contract and spot markets. Furthermore, upstream oil costs are maintained as gas markets stay tight, proportionally inflating the price of Polystyrene in the European market.

In Q4 2022, there was very less demand from downstream industries such as the automotive, construction, and packaging sectors; this demand continued to fall in January 2023 as a result of the high inflation in the region. Additionally, Customers were reluctant to buy the products because they were worried about the state of the European economy.

As per ChemAnalyst, Polystyrene demand is anticipated to stay modest since many processors will not start up again until the second week of January 2023. Producers restrict production, and several providers have temporarily disconnected their plants from the grid. Therefore, a low output coupled with modest demand will likely keep Polystyrene prices high in the upcoming weeks. Other factors may include rising inflation, and Germany's industry associations are worried about the economy, predict lower production due to high energy prices brought on by the conflict, and do not show any indications of easing up. Further, production shutdowns due to maintenance will likely significantly reduce the oversupply. However, the Polystyrene market has enough accessible volumes.