Styrene Market Morning Brief

I. Key Focus Points

1. October 8: Continued instability in the Middle East, combined with hurricane-induced shutdowns of some U.S. offshore oil wells, drove up international crude oil prices. The NYMEX WTI November futures contract rose by USD 3.21/bbl to USD 91.49/bbl, a week-on-week increase of +3.64%. The ICE Brent December futures contract rose by USD 4.08/bbl to USD 104.28/bbl, a week-on-week increase of +4.07%. The INE Crude Oil November 2026 (2611) futures contract in China rose by CNY 41.3 to CNY 737.4/bbl during the day session and fell by CNY 4.6 to CNY 732.8/bbl during the night session.
2. On October 8: Trading activity in the Asian styrene USD market remained moderate. A significant rise in RMB-denominated prices supported the USD market, leading to a daily close at higher levels. FOB Korea closed at USD 1,505–1,515/ton, with an average price increase of USD 80; CFR China closed at USD 1,445–1,455/ton, with an average price increase of USD 60. Unit: USD/ton.
3. On October 8: Compared to the previous trading day, theoretical production-sales margins for integrated facilities increased by CNY 653/ton to reach CNY 3,024/ton. For non-integrated facilities, theoretical losses decreased by CNY 489/ton to -CNY 169/ton.

Core Logic: Supply and demand maintain a tight balance, but negative feedback from downstream sectors is evident. Operating rates have declined, and resistance to high raw material costs has increased.

II. Price Summary

III. Market Outlook

Styrene: During last night's session, styrene opened high but trended lower, while crude oil prices remained strong. Non-integrated styrene producers face significant losses, potentially leading to unplanned production cuts. The pace of supply recovery is slower than expected, and port inventories remain at historical lows, making it difficult to reverse the tight spot market situation. Although supply and demand maintain a tight balance, negative feedback from downstream sectors is pronounced, operating rates have declined, and resistance to high raw material costs is increasing. In the short term, the styrene market is likely to fluctuate at high levels.

IV. Data Summary