Asian ABS producers’ ongoing firm pricing policy not followed by traders

Players operating in China reported that ABS producers across Asia elected to maintain their firm pricing policies while offers from regional traders softened over the past week.

A Taiwanese producer kept its ABS offers to China stable from a week earlier at $2080/ton CIF, cash, pointing to its limited allocations. On the traders’ side, however, offers were reported as low as $2030/ton CIF for the producer’s materials.

A Malaysian producer also maintained its ABS offers at the previous week’s levels, saying, “We think that the recent maritime control over Jiangsu Changjiang River will restrict styrene supplies to China, which might support spot prices in the near term. Plus, our ABS supplies remain tight. We think that ABS prices may not move above the $2100/ton CIF China, cash level, however they are likely to maintain their current levels for now.” The producer’s offer stands at $2050/ton CIF, cash.

A trader operating in Hong Kong commented, “Taiwanese and South Korean producers are reluctant to step back on their offers to China, citing their tight supplies. However, demand from end-users has slowed down recently. Prices might hover around their current levels in the days ahead.”

Another trader cut its ABS offers by $20-30/ton from last week, noting, “We had to correct our offers down due to fading demand. The market may not see any further revisions if spot styrene prices rebound and crude oil futures stabilize. On the other hand, demand is not giving any strong signals as Chinese players are set to leave their desks soon for the National Day holidays.”

Despite Asian producers’ efforts to keep the market on a firm path, overall import ABS prices witnessed weekly decreases of around $20-35/ton in line with lower offers from traders to be quoted at $1955-2100/ton CIF China, cash.