- Asian materials continue to be competitive- Market length persists



The European
acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene market continued to see a gap between domestic
and import prices in the week to April 5. Market participants said that European material was still
strategically attractive, despite the higher price point. Some buyers prefer
delivery-date certainty to competitively priced imports. When looking at intercontinental trade, vessel arrival-date
certainty is still a concern. In light of
continued Asian import pressure and low market demand, spot prices were reduced
by Eur70/mt to Eur1,900/mt. The European
industry-settled contract price for one of the upstream feedstocks, butadiene,
was reportedly lowered by Eur 20-21/mt. This is compared to its March level and
now stands at 970/mt in April. The
developments in key feedstocks styrene have been given more attention. This is
expected to have an impact...