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(ICIS) -- Spot butadiene (BD) prices in
Asia look set to fall further this month as suppliers are forced to offload
surplus material given reduced regional production at major downstream synthetic
rubber and acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) sectors, industry sources said
on Friday. BD shed about $700/tonne (?518/tonne) last month, ending September at
$2,700-2,800/tonne CFR (cost and freight) northeast (NE) Asia, according to ICIS
data.
“We expect the BD price to fall to around the $2,000/tonne CFR NE Asia
level by the end of October and may even drop below this level in early
November, given the current bearish market sentiment,” a trader said.
About 10,000 to 15,000 tonnes of BD from Europe and the US are scheduled
to arrive in Asia in October and November, competing with Asian supply, which is
struggling to find buyers in the current weak market.
Concerns over the ongoing European debt crisis and a faltering US economy
have prompted production cutbacks of synthetic rubbers and ABS resins in Asia.
China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan are export-oriented economies that count
Europe and the US as their major markets.
mrcplast.com
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