Price trend
According to the commodity market analysis system of SunSirs, the price of styrene in Shandong was 9,533.33 RMB/ton on July 1st, and 9,468.33 RMB/ton on July 9th, an increase of 0.37%. The price had increased by 28.24% compared to last year.
Analysis review
The market price of styrene had slightly increased this week. From the above chart, it can be seen that the price of styrene had been mainly fluctuating in the past three months, with a slight increase in the recent market trend. The main reason for the increase was that the inventory of styrene had decreased rapidly, and the unit load was low. There was an expectation of further decline in supply, and the styrene market was trading actively, resulting in an upward trend in the market.
Cost side: Recently, pure benzene had continued to decline overall. As of July 9th, the pure benzene port inventory had slightly increased. The pure benzene port inventory in Jiangsu region was 30,000 tons, an increase of 9,000 tons from the previous period's inventory of 21,000 tons, and a decrease of 83.9% from the same period last year. Most refineries in Shandong had lowered their offers. As of July 9th, the mainstream spot price of pure benzene in the Shandong market was 8,800 RMB/ton. Compared to the beginning of the year, pure benzene was temporarily accumulating inventory, and the market was relatively under pressure, with limited support for styrene.
Supply side: In July, there were many repairs to the styrene unit. On the 1st, the 500,000 ton/year styrene unit in Qingdao Bay was shut down for maintenance for one month. On the 10th, the 150,000 ton/year styrene plant in North Huajin was scheduled to be shut down for 14 days for maintenance. Zibo Junchen, Satellite Petrochemical, Xinpu Chemical, and Anhui Jiaxi styrene units had reduced their load to 60-80% of operation. The inventory of styrene ports in Jiangsu region was 35,900 tons, a decrease of 13,100 tons or 26.73% compared to the previous period's inventory of 49,000 tons. The inventory of styrene remained low, and domestic supply remained at a relatively low level, which was beneficial for the styrene market. Under the profit situation, the enthusiasm of production enterprises to start production was limited, and it is expected that the supply pressure of styrene will not be significant in mid to late July.
Demand side: Recently, the three major downstream markets of styrene had seen two increases and one flat. The EPS market was stable, with downstream resisting high prices. Production was mainly focused on digesting the inventory of finished products in the early stage, and the market had a clear wait-and-see atmosphere. New order transactions were weak. Domestic ABS prices were rising. ABS finished product inventory was relatively high during the same period, but demand had increased, market transactions were good, and the market had slightly increased. The PS market was fluctuating and rising. The mainstream price of GPPS (polyphenylene sulfide) in the East China market was between 9,750-11,000 RMB/ton, and the mainstream price of HIPS (polystyrene) was between 10,100-11,600 RMB/ton.
Market outlook
According to the styrene data analyst from SunSirs, the styrene port inventory was temporarily low, and the production of styrene units had decreased significantly, leading to a decrease in supply expectations. However, due to the drag of the cost side pure benzene market, the increase may be limited. SunSirs’ analysts expect the styrene market will mainly increase slightly.
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