Styrene Monomer (SM) price in Asia fell to an 11-year low on Monday following a plunge in crude oil futures. Market sources informed SSESSMENTS.COM that SM price was down to $732.50/ton CFR China on Monday, $93/ton, or 11% lower than the price on Friday. Meanwhile, domestic SM price stood between CNY5,750-5,780/ton ($829-834/ton) on Monday, about CNY750/ton ($108/ton) lower compared to the price on Friday.
This decline came after SM sentiment improved last week, helped by the explosion at Lotte Chemical's 1.1 million tons/year cracker, which affected production at its 580,000 tons/year SM unit. As SSESSMENTS.COM noted, the coronavirus outbreak has caused weaker demand and high inventory levels, pushing SM prices to as low as $767.50/ton on February 28.
