Oil drops $2.87/b on day  Firm ethylene price on tight supply  



Asian spot styrene monomer
prices fell $15-20/mt to $1,330-1,360/mt CFR China on March 31, while the China
domestic price was down from Yuan 130-160/mt to Yuan 9,675-9,700/mt Ex-tank. This
equates to $1,320-1,350/mt if you use import-parity. In the
morning trading session, China's domestic market prices trended lower to Yuan
9,670-9,680/mt in prompt delivery, Yuan 9,700-9,710/mt in H2 April delivery, and
Yuan 9,670-9,680/mt in H2 May delivery. Spot
CFR China talks would remain thin, sources said. Local producers are looking
for export opportunities. They said that
Europe may be more interested in spot CFR China due to an open Asian-Europe
arbitrage. On March 30, the styrene FOB
ARA valuation was $1,900-1,950/mt Firmer
ethylene prices pressured SM margins in Asia. As supply was expected to tighten,...