Sinopec News: Styrene prices may continue to remain highly volatile

This week, the styrene market experienced a sharp rise followed by a decline, with prices showing significant volatility. As of March 11, the average closing price in Jiangsu reached 9,800 yuan/ton, up 1,618 yuan/ton from March 4, a 19.77% increase. Subsequently, due to easing international tensions and several countries planning to release energy reserves, crude oil prices retreated some of their gains on March 10, causing styrene prices to fall sharply. The current core driver of the styrene market is emergency-driven cost transmission caused by unexpected events, rather than a demand-driven trend reversal. Although uncertainties remain in the crude oil market, downstream buyers of styrene are already resistant to the current high prices, and market credit risk has increased. Fundamentally, with the arrival of the spring maintenance season and some companies operating at reduced loads, the March output growth has been lower than expected, and the industry is in a destocking cycle, providing some support for prices. Moving forward, attention should be paid to changes in the international energy market, as styrene prices are likely to remain highly volatile.