Asian players write-off cash-strapped China

Asian SM falls $30/mt as players write-off cash-strapped China

Sydney (Platts)--11May2005


Asia's styrene market has fallen about $30/mt to $990/mt FOB Korea as players
affirmed their evaluation that China would not be a viable outlet for several
weeks at the least. 

Sources said they feared that China's cash shortage and credit problems could
worsen before they begin to improve. On Wednesday, styrene players decided to
disassociate themselves from the bullish US benzene market. Another reason for
this was the observation that China's polystyrene and ABS trade continued to
be sluggish on the third day of its return from the May 1-7 week-long national
holiday. On Wednesday, PS and ABS offers were "all over the place", spanning a
$50/mt price range between the most competitive and least sellers. But many
consumers refused to be drawn out, which players took as a sign of faltering
consumer spending, both locally and overseas. Sources described demand for
China-made durable goods such as home appliances, electronics and toys as
being lackluster. "It's a factor of the global economic slow down," a plastics
dealer in Hong Kong said.

Styrene monomer prices are published daily in Platts Asian Petrochemical Scan
http://www.platts.com/Petrochemicals/Newsletters%20&%20Reports/Asian%20Petroc
hemicalscan/.

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