According to the commodity analysis system of Business Society, the styrene market showed a strong upward trend this week. The average price at the beginning of the week was 6,964 yuan/ton, and by the weekend, it had risen to 7,116 yuan/ton, representing a weekly increase of 2.18%.

Chart: Styrene Product P-Value Curve (Image source: Business Society Commodity Analysis System)

News: On January 15, international crude oil futures plummeted. The settlement price for the March contract of U.S. WTI crude oil futures was $59.08 per barrel, a decrease of $2.80 or 4.5%. The settlement price for the March contract of Brent crude oil futures was $63.76 per barrel, a decrease of $2.76 or 4.1%.

Cost factors: This week, the pure benzene market saw a significant price increase. The deterioration of the situation in the Middle East drove up crude oil prices, and the strong rally in downstream styrene boosted demand for pure benzene, leading to an active upward trend in the pure benzene market.

Supply and demand: This week, the resumption of styrene production fell short of expectations, strengthening support from the supply side. Recently, due to increased maintenance of overseas styrene plants, inquiries and actual transactions for Chinese styrene exports have indeed increased, further reducing port inventories and significantly improving the fundamentals of styrene. The operating rates of downstream 3S (referring to polystyrene, ABS, and SAN) showed little change, with fluctuations mainly driven by seasonal factors.

International styrene market: On January 15, the closing prices for the styrene market in Asia decreased by $2.5 per ton, with closing prices at $890-900/ton FOB Korea and $900-910/ton CFR China.

Future outlook: Recently, styrene prices have strengthened, but downstream resistance to high-priced raw materials has increased. There is a high likelihood that raw material pure benzene will weaken in the later stages. It is expected that the styrene market will consolidate at high levels in the short term.