Southeast Asia’s ABS market steady to firmer as Chinese New Year holidays draw closer

01-Feb-13

Southeast Asia’s ABS market is following a stable to firmer trend as the Chinese New Year holidays draw closer, as per ChemOrbis. Prices are being supported by stronger upstream costs while buying interest is reported to be limited now that Chinese New Year holiday is only two weeks away. A trader based in Malaysia stated, “We raised our Taiwanese ABS prices by US$35/ton over the past week in accordance with our supplier’s higher prices. Prices are being supported by escalating costs, but we believe that prices will remain mostly steady until after the holidays as buyers are typically purchasing in small amounts now.” A source at a Taiwanese producer commented, “We kept our ABS prices stable this week. Limited availability for styrene and benzene are putting some upward pressure on prices, but buyers are offering resistance to our current levels and we are planning to maintain our prices and re-evaluate the market situation after the holidays.” A source at a Southeast Asian producer said, “We finished our January sales and now we are offering some limited cargoes for February. We are currently operating at around 75% of capacity to cope with limited demand ahead of the holidays.” ABS prices in the region’s local markets are also following a stable to firmer trend. A compounder in Malaysia stated, “We are sticking to the sidelines for now as our stock levels are sufficient. Demand for our end products has significantly improved recently, which we were not expecting. We think ABS prices will remain firm but we do not expect to see any major increases in the coming weeks.” A distributor based in Thailand told ChemOrbis, “Local ABS prices are mostly stable now while trading activity is limited as buyers are proceeding cautiously with their purchases.” A converter based in Vietnam said, “Locally-held ABS prices moved higher over the past week. We are sticking to the sidelines for now even though our end product demand is normal.”