[PS Weekly Review] Cost Lacks Support, Market Continues to Decline

This week's hot topics of interest

In this period, the domestic PS market continued to decline, with a range of 50-190 RMB/ton.

This week, China's PS industry produced 93,000 tons, a decrease of 3,000 tons compared to last week. The industry's capacity utilization rate is 59.1%, down 2.1% from last week.

This week, China's PS finished product inventory is 89,000 tons, a decrease of 1,000 tons compared to last week, a decline of 1.1%.

2. Weekly Market Review

Figure 1 PS from 2023 to 2025DailyEast China Market Price Trend Chart (Unit: Yuan/Ton)

During this period, the domestic PS market continued to decline, with a range of 50-190 yuan/ton. In terms of costs, although supply and demand are tightly balanced, the continuous accumulation of inventories at ports has heightened bearish sentiment in the market, leading to an increase in short positions and weaker prices. On the supply and demand front, the impact of the typhoon has led to reduced production or shutdowns for maintenance at facilities in Shantou, Huizhou, and Zhanjiang, Guangdong, resulting in decreased industry output. This has improved low-level market sales, and in the pre-holiday inventory clearance rhythm, inventories have slightly decreased. According to Longzhong Information data, on September 25, 2025, the East China market saw a drop of 190 yuan to 7,380 yuan/ton for GPPS and a drop of 50 yuan to 8,350 yuan/ton for HIPS.

3. Market Forecast for Next Week

It is expected that the PS market may stop declining and see a slight increase in the next period. On the cost side, the supply and demand of styrene have decreased during the National Day holiday, but the reduction of short positions may lead to a strong fluctuation in prices before the holiday, with cost support remaining acceptable. On the supply and demand side, maintenance of some facilities in East and South China is impacting the industry, and there is still an expectation of supply decline, temporarily alleviating supply pressure, which may support a slight attempt to increase prices.