Asian SM falls $30/mt as players write-off cash-strapped China
Sydney (Platts)--11May2005
Asia's styrene market has fallen about $30/mt to $990/mt FOB Korea as players affirmed their evaluation that China would not be a viable outlet for several weeks at the least. Sources said they feared that China's cash shortage and credit problems could worsen before they begin to improve. On Wednesday, styrene players decided to disassociate themselves from the bullish US benzene market. Another reason for this was the observation that China's polystyrene and ABS trade continued to be sluggish on the third day of its return from the May 1-7 week-long national holiday. On Wednesday, PS and ABS offers were "all over the place", spanning a $50/mt price range between the most competitive and least sellers. But many consumers refused to be drawn out, which players took as a sign of faltering consumer spending, both locally and overseas. Sources described demand for China-made durable goods such as home appliances, electronics and toys as being lackluster. "It's a factor of the global economic slow down," a plastics dealer in Hong Kong said. Styrene monomer prices are published daily in Platts Asian Petrochemical Scan http://www.platts.com/Petrochemicals/Newsletters%20&%20Reports/Asian%20Petroc hemicalscan/.
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