Styrene Monomer Prices Expected to Take a Hit in the Asian Markets

The Styrene Monomer prices in the Asian markets dropped on Thursday due to weaker upstream energy rates and bearish regional buying sentiment. The FOB South Korea prices were assessed at USD 1105 per tonne which showed a drop of USD 10 per tonne from Wednesday’s assessed levels. CFR China Styrene Prices quoted lower at USD 1125 per tonne showing a day on day drop of USD 10 per tonne. Moreover, upstream Benzene prices remained steady at USD 930 as per FOB South Korea levels.

The prices are expected to maintain the downward trend as the upstream benzene prices are expected to remain steady for the upcoming week. The regional buying sentiment also appears to be stagnant. This can have a hit on the price levels and the prices are expected to drop by another 5%-10% in the upcoming last week of November.

On the supply side the supply is also expected to ease in the month of November as the Zhejiang Petroleum and Chemical has already brought its 600 kilotons per year capacity plant online which was shut in mid- October for a scheduled maintenance turnaround.

Styrene monomer is basically the monomer of polystyrene, and the monomer is also used to produce acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), styrene acrylonitrile (SAN) plastics. The monomer has various application in performance plastics, automotive, and electronics, etc. The global demand for styrene monomer reached around 40 million tonnes in 2020 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5% during the upcoming years till 2030.

As per ChemAnalyst, “the prices of styrene monomer which fell on Thursday by USD 10 tonne are expected to fall further in the upcoming week. The demand of styrene monomer has been stagnant in the Asian markets for a long period now. The prices will tend to take an upturn as the demand picks up in the ABS market for automotive applications.”