Price trend

According to the commodity analysis system of SunSirs, the styrene market fluctuated and rose in February, with an average price of 8,550 RMB/ton at the beginning of the month and 8,638 RMB/ton at the end of the month. The weekly increase was 1.03%, and the year-on-year decrease was 3.92%. The styrene market in February was greatly affected by raw material costs and supply and demand. At the beginning of the month, the price of benzene rose, and styrene experienced a rise. The price of benzene continued to rise, with high cost prices and tightened profits for styrene. However, due to demand constraints, the price has rebounded.

Analysis review

News side: Crude oil fluctuated and fell in February, with WTI crude oil falling below 70 US dollars per barrel, hitting its lowest level in two months. Under multiple pressures such as geopolitics, global economy, and weak demand, oil prices were under pressure to decline.

Cost side: The benzene market fluctuated and rose in February. In early February, the market saw good sales, major factories planned maintenance, the operating rate declined, and the price of benzene gradually increased. In late February, Shandong's local refining enterprises had poor shipments, and the market was promoting discounts, causing prices to fall back to around the beginning of the month level.

Supply and demand side: styrene production was at a high level, supply remained loose, and the total market inventory was relatively high. Downstream ABS, PS, and EPS production gradually resumed after the Spring Festival and basically returned to normal levels by the end of February.

Market outlook

The number of styrene maintenance enterprises will increase in March and April, and the market will enter the stage of digesting inventory. Downstream profits are low, and the increase in production is limited. Upstream benzene is selling at a discounted price, and there are many resistance factors to the rise of styrene. It is expected that the price of styrene will be weaker under pressure in the short term.

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