- Local PS offers in China started to cool down since the middle of June
- PS demand in China gradually improved in the first half of June
- PS prices expected to remain firm following the uptrend in crude oil and SM prices
According to SSESSMENTS.COM pricing database, local PS offers in China were on uptrend until the middle of June. The offers started to cool down and remain stable until the end of June. In the first week of June, following the uptrend in crude oil and SM prices coupled with limited supply at one of the local producer’s end, GPPS Injection and HIPS Injection mostly increased between CNY100-200/ton ($14-28/ton) on a weekly comparison. In the following week, as the limited supply in the domestic market persists, a local producer moved up GPPS Injection and HIPS Injection by CNY100/ton ($14/ton) and CNY50/ton ($7/ton). However, on the week commencing June 15, local PS offers captured stable to slightly decrease by CNY50/ton ($7/ton) from a week earlier and remain stable until the end of June.
In the import market, a Malaysian PS producer skipped June shipment offers to China market due to supply shortage on the company’s end after selling HIPS Injection at the same level to the initial offers between $970-1,000/ton on LC at sight, CIF China Main Port basis on the week commencing June 1. While for Taiwanese cargoes, on the week commencing June 8, both Taiwanese GPPS Injection and HIPS Injection offers hiked between $20-40/ton compared to a week earlier. While on the week commencing June 15, no fresh offers for GPPS Injection from a Vietnamese PS producer captured as the producer had sold out July shipment allocation to China, around 2,000 tons. Nearing the end of June, with the shorter working week, import PS offers were scarce, SSESSMENTS.COM was told.
In the first half of June, PS demand in China gradually improved as supported by the healthy finished product demand, home appliances and automobiles sector. However, buyers were still on a cautious stance and only purchased a small volume of materials. In the second half of June, finished products demand declined slightly after the online shopping festival ended on June 18. On the week commencing June 22, buying sentiment was flat as most buyers were in holiday mood nearing the Dragon Boat Festival which takes place between June 25-27. Due to that, trading activities remained flat as market players were away from their desk. On the supply side, SSESSMENTS.COM noted that PS supply in China was tight during June. As of June 25, SM inventory in coastal China stood at 322,100 tons, increased by 7,400 tons compared to the beginning of June. While from the traders’ end, the inventory increased by 8,400 tons, stood at 221,100 tons compared to the same period. On the production front, BASF-YPC Company Limited completed maintenance at its 200,000 tons/year PS plant on June 16 after previously shut for maintenance purpose on May 5.
Looking ahead, Chinese market players opined that PS prices will remain firm in the upcoming months following the uptrend in crude oil and SM prices. As for demand, PS demand in China is expected to be slower in July if finished product demand is not improved, as stated to SSESSMENTS.COM.
