In the first half of June, the domestic ABS market continued to decline, with most grades of spot prices decreasing. According to data from Shengyishe Spot News, as of June 15th, the average price of ABS sample products was 9266.67 yuan/ton, a decrease of 4.63% from the beginning of the month.
| Gamma-PGA (gamma polyglutamic acid) |
Fundamental analysis
Supply level: As we enter June, the equipment load of the domestic ABS industry has decreased at a low level, and the overall operating rate within the range has slightly dropped to around 58%. The current weekly average production is less than 125000 tons. At the same time, the inventory of finished products has not decreased but increased, currently approaching around 230000 tons. The shipment situation of the aggregation plant remained sluggish within half a month, and the short-term production trend in the future was stable with a small increase. Overall, the ABS supply side provided sufficient support for spot prices in the first half of June.
Cost factor: Since June, there have been frequent reports of preliminary peace agreements between the United States and Iran in the Middle East. As the middle of the month approaches, high-level officials from both sides are intensively releasing positive signals. Although it will take some time for shipping in the Strait of Hormuz to resume, the market predicts that the Middle East conflict is easing and oil prices are once again plummeting. Affected by it, the cost value of the upstream three materials of ABS, which belong to the petrochemical chain, has been dragged. The cost value of acrylonitrile has decreased, and downstream consumption is weak. However, the industry’s capacity utilization rate has once again declined, and the supply side continues to shrink. Low price spot resources on the market are also gradually being digested. The buying trend in the spot market has been followed up, and prices have stopped falling and stabilized, reaching a temporary bottom. However, without positive guidance, the rebound momentum is still insufficient.
The domestic butadiene market experienced a decline after consolidation in the first half of June. Although some companies have fulfilled their maintenance obligations, downstream end products have poor profits and there is a lack of inventory expansion operations. Butadiene is also dragged by the current market trend of synthetic rubber, and it is expected that the butadiene market will continue to consolidate at a low level.
For the past half month, the styrene market has continued to decline. From the perspective of raw materials, although the decline of pure benzene has slowed down compared to the end of May, it still maintains a negative trend. However, the domestic supply of goods has shifted from tight to balanced, and coupled with the lack of effective driving force for styrene consumption, the market lacks upward momentum. In the second half of the month, there are plans to restart multiple sets of styrene plants in China. In the medium to long term, the supply and demand of styrene will weaken and prices will be under pressure.
On the demand side: In the first half of June, there were limited changes in the start-up situation of downstream ABS enterprises. The main terminal appliance industry has officially entered the off-season, with poor consumption of appliance casings and no improvement in the profitability of terminal enterprises. The atmosphere inside the venue is buying up instead of buying down, and there has been a significant reduction in replenishing and building positions. However, merchants engage in low price buyback operations, while the buyer camp has a high resistance to high priced goods. Overall, the demand side has poor support for the ABS market.
Future forecast
In the first half of June, the domestic ABS market continued to decline. The production load of the aggregation plant has fluctuated narrowly at a low level, but inventory has accumulated and the on-site supply remains within a sufficient range. The overall trend of cost and material is weak. The current supply-demand contradiction of ABS is still prominent, with a loose focus on spot prices and relatively quiet trading on the market.
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