US March styrene contracts record a significant decrease on Friday, dragged by weak demand amid the COVID-19 pandemic and slumping upstream benzene costs, market sources told SSESSMENTS.COM. US March styrene contracts fell by 15 cents/pound (30%) to below 40 cents/pound, marking the biggest monthly percentage decline since a more than 43% drop in December 2008.
Styrene derivative demand has been soft amid the lockdown and “stay at home” measures to curb the coronavirus spread. Global and domestic automakers in the US have announced a production pause at least until the end of the month due to the pandemic. The auto industry is a significant consumer of acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) and styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR).
At the same time, the crash in crude oil prices pushed down spot benzene prices. As a result, April benzene contracts tumbled by over 50%, which also put styrene values under pressure.
