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EPS reverses course after 4-month downtrend in Türkiye

by Merve Madakbaşı - mmadakbasi@chemorbis.com
  • 14/02/2024 (10:16)
Türkiye’s EPS markets turned up this month mainly due to bullish styrene markets across the board. Price drops lost steam back in January when prices signaled a stabilization following relentless decreases from October 2023 to January 2024.

Ex-warehouse Türkiye – Local EPS prices– EPS Regular – EPS Non-Flammable

EPS responds to bullish styrene later than other styrenics

EPS has been unresponsive to the logistic mishaps stemming from the Red Sea unrest late last year. This was because the market was well fed by domestic suppliers and did not depend much on imports, unlike the case for PS and ABS. Nonetheless, surging upstream costs helped EPS sellers to renew confidence despite the low season, which led to an improvement in sentiment for later Q1.

In February, domestic EPS prices were assessed $210/ton higher compared to January at $1530-1580/ton for white regular and $1560-1610/ton for white non-flammable ex-warehouse equivalent Türkiye, not inc. VAT.

Demand pressure persists

EPS black/grey prices for domestic cargos were up by $150-200/ton to be reported at $1980-2000/ton FD Türkiye, not inc. VAT. European EPS black was sold €50/ton ($54/ton) above last month €1800/ton ($1929/ton) FD Türkiye, not inc. VAT. The lower €/USD parity added to the competitive power of these cargos. “Sellers did not reflect the entire styrene increase onto their EPS prices considering that demand for black/grey has been lethargic since Q4,” some player opined.

A source from a domestic producer commented, “Demand was better than we predicted last month as buyers were convinced that prices neared the bottom, and they should replace some stocks. Nonetheless, activity has been muted so far in February given expensive bank loans.”

Supportive upstream costs underpin March outlook

A buyer said, “Our suppliers are talking about another round of price hikes for next month. We will continue to monitor the styrene markets and derivative industries.” According to ChemOrbis Price Wizard, spot styrene prices have spiked by about $400/ton on FOB NWE basis since they hit bottom in mid-December last year. This shows the ongoing upward pressure on EPS.
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