Styrene Europe

摘要

Northwest European styrene monomer barges loading 5-30 days forward were assessed at $1,425/mt FOB ARA Friday, surging $60/mt on the day. Week on week, prices have increased $113.50/mt, on the back of supply tightness caused by turnarounds and reduced imports. An estimated 10% of Europe’s 6.665 million mt/year capacity is expected to be offline for June, taking up to 55,000 mt of material out of the European supply chain. Market participants previously expected imports to plug this supply gap but global exporters preferred to send material to Asia, which is the highest priced region globally. Asian prices were assessed $1,454.50/mt FOB Korea and $1,478.50/mt CFR China Friday, both up $95/mt week on week. With only 20,000-25,000 mt of imports expected in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp region for June, current import estimates fall short of the typical 30,000-60,000 mt of styrene that usually flows from the US to Europe in a balanced market. One source said Europe would need an extra 30,000-35,000 mt of material to cover demand in June. Meanwhile, an estimated 50,000 mt of US material is expected in Asia for June delivery, almost double the usual volume.