Styrene Copolymer market sentiments showcasing inflation in the Asian market

Styrene Copolymer is a polymer plastic produced from Styrene and acrylate. Owing to the high prices of crude oil, its downstream elements, Benzene and Ethylene prices have increased. These soaring prices of crude oil and natural gas have led to hiked prices of Styrene Copolymer in the global market.

In the US market, the production cost of Styrene Copolymer has escalated in the past few weeks as the market sentiments of natural gas have skyrocketed in the domestic market. Furthermore, the country has cancelled the Keystone XL pipeline project, which will further impact the ongoing energy crisis. As the days go by, the fuel and energy stock available in the North American region is diminishing, proportionally affecting the prices of Styrene Copolymer. The demand from downstream sectors such as cosmetics and personal healthcare became the driving force for the variations in the sentiments of Styrene Copolymer. In the Asia-Pacific region, the demand from downstream cosmetics sectors has forced the manufacturers to increase the production cost of Styrene Copolymer. One of the major producers of benzene, CPC Corporation, based in Taiwan, will have its benzene production plant under maintenance, creating a shortage of supply with the manufacturers. Furthermore, the imposition of lockdown in China has terminated the production of Styrene Copolymer along with disruption in trade routes.

The European region has been continuously suffering from port congestion as the containers coming from the North European market added to the pile stocked at the port. Supply disruption from major supplying countries has created a hurdle in the production rate of Styrene Copolymer in the regional market. Vessels arriving at North European ports are already delayed by supply chain disruptions in China, while sanctioned Russian cargo remaining on board.

As per ChemAnalyst, the prices of Styrene Copolymer may continue to follow the uptrend in the upcoming weeks as the market sentiments will depend upon the prices of crude oil and feedstock prices. Following up, the demand from the downstream cosmetics sector may drive the market for Styrene Copolymer.