Europe's import arbitrage from Asia for acrylonitrile butadiene styrene is wide open, according to S&P Global Platts data.
In Europe, the ABS spot price was assessed at Eur1,860/mt ($2,299/mt) FD NWE Wednesday, unchanged on the week. In Asia, the CFR China price was assessed at $2,010/mt on Wednesday, down $50/mt on the week, and down $100/mt since the end of February.
Taking freight and other costs to bring product from Far East Asia to Europe at around $100/mt, the import arbitrage is wide open.
Sellers were heard feeling price pressure this week on slowing in demand.
"Demand is muted," a seller source said. "People are waiting for April prices to drop."
Although import competition remained limited across continental Europe, the open arbitrage could incentivize imports in the coming weeks, the source said.
South Korea is the largest supplier of ABS into Europe.
The EU's ABS imports totaled 236,574 mt in 2017, compared with 236,841 mt, according to latest Eurostat data.
Supplies from South Korea were 165,827 mt, accounting for 70% of total volumes.
