【ABS Weekly Review】The supply-demand imbalance persists, and market prices continue to decline.

This week's hot topics:

This week's market prices have fallen.

This week's industry output has increased.

The inventory level of the petrochemical plant increased this week.

This week's ABS market trends:During this period (20250320-0327), market prices fell across the board, and market transactions were extremely weak. On Monday, petrochemical factories lowered their ex-factory prices, leading to a decline in market prices. This week, the price drop ranged from 100 to 200 yuan/ton. Recently, the output in the ABS industry has increased, resulting in a supply surplus, and market prices have continued to weaken. Negative sentiments dominate the market, with traders offering low prices to clear inventory, leading to an overall bearish market outlook.

Domestic ABS Market Price Comparison Table for This Week

3. Raw Material Market Trends This Week

3.1 Styrene:During this period, domestic styrene prices showed a trend of consolidation and decline. In Jiangsu, high-end spot transactions were at 8080 yuan/ton, while low-end transactions were at 7880 yuan/ton, with a price difference of 200 yuan/ton. Throughout the week, production costs continued to fall, which strongly negatively impacted market sentiment. The styrene market supply remained abundant, with downstream consumption mainly focusing on holding raw materials, resulting in poor performance in spot purchases. The strong intention to sell during the period further suppressed the market, leading to consecutive declines. In the latter half of the week, as crude oil fluctuated and rebounded, there was an increase in transactions due to replenishment at lower prices after consecutive declines in pure benzene and styrene markets. Additionally, styrene inventory continued to decrease, leading to a rebound in the styrene market after the decline. Overall, during the period, the styrene market experienced a decline followed by an increase, with a greater overall decline than increase, resulting in a consolidation of price decreases.

3.2 Butadiene:During this period, the domestic butadiene market experienced weak fluctuations, with mainstream market prices slightly declining. Recently, domestic production has been abundant, and suppliers in Northeast China, Northern Jiangsu, and Shandong have been exporting goods, which has supplemented the spot market. Downstream demand has continued to follow basic needs, but some downstream industries reduced their operating rates during the week, and prices in the synthetic rubber market also fell slightly, providing no significant support for demand. The weak supply-demand dynamics have affected market transactions, with some nodes encountering obstacles in exporting goods, which pressured suppliers to lower prices, leading to a downward trend in the market. As of March 27, the delivered price in the Shandong Luzhong region was around 11,000-11,100 yuan/ton, while the self-lifting price in East China was about 10,900 yuan/ton.

3.3 Acrylonitrile:In this period (March 21-27, 2025), the price of acrylonitrile in the market has risen. As of the close on March 27, the ex-tank price at East China ports has reached 8,800-9,000 yuan/ton, and the delivered price in Shandong market is also 8,800-9,000 yuan/ton, an increase of 200-300 yuan/ton compared to the same period last week. This week, the domestic spot market price of acrylonitrile rebounded, as some facilities in East China reduced their operating rates or planned maintenance, and the northern region also announced upcoming maintenance plans. Overall, factories have no pressure on inventory, and new production capacity has not yet been released. As a result, manufacturers have generally raised their quotations, and the spot market offers have further increased. The rebound of acrylonitrile has once again stimulated downstream users to increase procurement, creating a favorable trading atmosphere in the spot market. However, overall supply remains ample, and there are still uncertainties regarding whether the production cuts will materialize. Additionally, new facilities are still in the process of coming online, leading to insufficient market confidence and limiting the extent of the price increase during the week.

4. Market Forecast:It is expected that the ABS market price will show a weak trend next week. On the supply side, there are currently no manufacturers undergoing maintenance, and industry production remains at a high level. However, terminal demand continues to be weak, and the surplus situation persists, leading to a bearish price outlook.