Global Coronavirus Lockdown Supported Demand For Certain PS End Products From China
- Local GPPS, HIPS prices moved in-line with SM costs
- Demand for certain PS end products is still ongoing
- Firm crude oil and SM prices believed to support PS prices onwards
Global Coronavirus lockdown has supported demand for certain PS end products from China, market players told SSESSMENTS.COM. Local GPPS Injection and HIPS Injection reported down between CNY50-300/ton ($7-42/ton) as compared to last week’s level. The decreases in the SM prices and slow demand for PS resins were the major ground of the downward price adjustments. Based on SSESSMENTS.COM’s pricing database, SM prices have gone down by CNY350/ton ($49/ton) on a weekly comparison. In the import market, offers for Vietnamese GPPS Injection remained stable from last week at $820/ton on LC at sight, CIF China main port basis with deals concluded at the initial offer level. Buyers’ bids at $20/ton lower than the initial offer level were rejected by the producer.
The overall demand for PS resins reported slow. For the end products, demand for printers from the local and export market is healthy as the lockdown scenario asks people to work and study from home. Other than that, demand for XPS is also ongoing as supported by infrastructure projects. Meanwhile, demand from the automotive and home appliances sector is subdued as the orders from overseas declined significantly. Based on data from China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), SSESSMENTS.COM noted that on the first ten days of May, sales for automobiles fell by 13.9% as compared to the same period last year. At the moment, the average production rate from the downstream manufacturers is between 40-50%. On the supply front, as of May 14, SM inventory in coastal China recorded at 279,500 tons, an increase of 1,900 tons from last week. While on traders’ end the inventory stood at 186,500 tons, up by 3,900 tons from a week earlier.
In the days to come, Chinese market players opined that local PS prices will remain stable at the current level citing the relatively firm crude oil and SM prices as supporting factors. Demand-wise, it is hard to expect any improvements in the near time, players told SSESSMENTS.COM.
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