ABS prices inch up after holiday in China

Both local and overseas suppliers to China issued small increases on their ABS prices after returning from the Dragon Boat festival last week, as per ChemOrbis. The producers’ price increases were attributed to higher feedstock costs. Spot styrene prices on an FOB South Korea basis climbed US$15/ton week over week, supported by firmer energy markets while spot ACN prices are holding steady. A Chinese producer raised their local ABS prices by CNY200/ton (US$33/ton) following the holidays last week. A source from the producer cited firmer styrene and ACN costs as the main reason behind their higher prices and added that they still have not recovered their margins despite their recent price hike. Another local producer also increased their ABS prices by CNY100/ton (US$16/ton) at the end of last week. “Demand is slow from both traders and converters. We are not planning to issue further increases on our prices while we think that prices are unlikely to move lower as well given firmer feedstock costs,” a producer source commented. A distributor raised their prices to keep up with producers’ firmer offers, commenting, “Buying interest remains slow for now and we do not expect to see additional gains in the days ahead. We remain cautious about building stocks considering weak buying interest.” Another distributor confirmed receiving slightly higher ABS offers from local producers. He said, “Although we do not have any ABS in our stocks for now, we are not planning to make new purchases. It is hard for ABS prices to post rapid increases in the short term as demand from converters remains poor. “ In the import market, a distributor reported that a Taiwanese producer issued small increases of $10/ton on their ABS prices last week. He said, “We limited our sales volumes in anticipation of higher prices in line with firmer feedstock costs in the upcoming days. Meanwhile, our local supplier elected to leave their prices unchanged due to the short working days following the holidays.” A South Korean producer issued small increases of US$10/ton on their ABS prices in order to reflect higher upstream costs. A producer source complained about their slow sales, commenting, “We do not expect to see higher prices in the short term considering sluggish demand. However, we do not think that prices will move lower as most producers are still operating with insufficient margins these days.” According to ChemOrbis, another South Korean producer slightly lifted their ABS prices in line with higher upstream costs. “Demand is still weak since our regular customers have reduced their purchases below usual levels while some of them prefer to buy local material which is more competitive than imports. Considering sluggish demand and high costs, we reduced our operating rates to 80%,” a producer source commented.