SINGAPORE(ICIS)–Asia styrene monomer (SM) prices retreated to below$1,300/tonne CFR (cost & freight)Chinathis week amid the sharpdeclines in crude futures, said traders and brokers.

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The West Texas Intermediates(WTI) crude future fell below $53/bbl from the recent $59/bbl level amid theongoing crisis inGreeceanduncertainties surround the nuclear talks inIran.

“The crisis inGreeceand the Iranian nuclear talks haveweighed on petrochemical prices, including SM,” said a broker inSingapore.

After touching $1,500/tonne CFR in mid-May, SM prices in Asiahas trended lower and went below $1,300/tonne CFR China this week, according toICIS data.

Weak performance in thedownstream styrenic resins sector also exerted downward pressure on monomerprices. Demand for resins remained slack into July as end-users were hesitantto stock up.

“The recent downtrend inSM prices have prompted resin buyers to wait and see, as they hoped thatplastics prices will trend lower some more in the near term”, said a resinsproducer in Taiwan.

SM is a liquid chemicalused to make resins such as polystyrene (PS) andacrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS).

After the heavy SMturnaround season in the second quarter, the tight supply situation in thesecond quarter has gradually eased. At the same time, plant problems in Asiaand the Middle East have also largely beenresolved, causing prices to trend lower as concerns over a supply crunch haveabated.

“Deep sea cargoes,ex-US, were also becoming more available in recent weeks which is helping toallay worries of any supply constraints”, said a trader inSingapore.

In the second quarter,delays in the arrival of deep-sea cargoes exacerbated the supply strain in Asia and bolstered prices.

“I have received offersfor deep-sea cargoes over the past several weeks”, said a buyer inTaiwan.

With the Chinesemanufacturing for exports season set to kick off in August, demand for resinsand consequently SM is expected to improve in the weeks ahead.

“We hope that resinsdemand will pick up in the second half of July”, said a resin producer inKorea.

However, some playersremained pessimistic of any significant rebound in SM prices, citing the widebenzene-styrene spread of more than $500/tonne in recent months, compared tothe typical $250-300/tonne.

“There is room for SM todecline relative to benzene so that the benzene-styrene gap willnarrow”, said a trader in Korea.