European Polystyrene - The market looks upstream, but there
is little liquidity■ Feedstock styrene drops Eur509/mt■ Aug: ConverterThe European polystyrene markets' prices
appeared to be on the verge of plummeting on Aug. 3. However, talk of lower
pricing based upon upstream feedstock was not yet a reality. Activity remained
low. Upstream,
the August feedstock styrene monomer contract price was set at Eur1,831/mt. This
was agreed upon by the market and counterparties. This market saw a drop of Eur509/mt over the month. Producer INEOS Styrolution sent a letter to customers
offering a reduction of Eur400/mt for polystyrene. Another producer stated that it would target a similar
reduction. According to the producer, the
decrease was slower than the upstream monomer cost because it did not take into
account increased energy costs. This is due to July's price movements that...