London — European general purpose polystyrene contract and spot prices rose over the past week amid a bullish outlook for September, according to market sources.
The GPPS net contract and spot prices were assessed at Eur1,450/mt ($1,677/mt) and Eur1,365/mt ($1,579/mt) FD NWE Wednesday, both rising Eur5/mt on the week.
The market anticipated price increases in September, which kept sellers in a dominant position when negotiating August prices.
Early expectations for the September styrene contract price were heard in the range Eur1,395-1,415/mt this week, pointing to an Eur80-100/mt rise over the August level of Eur1,315/mt. Uncertainty over an ongoing production issue amid other bullish factors supported styrene spot prices through to September.
GPPS buyers were heard looking for product in order to secure volumes before the anticipated September price increase.
A trader source said that some buyers were looking to pre-buy product as the summer holidays were coming to an end.
"A couple of people have bough material in advance," he said.
A seller source was also optimistic about stronger buy interest.
"Maybe next week our customers will try to buy some more volumes ahead of September increases," he said.
GPPS prices in Europe were also supported by an absence of imports.
There was a clear lack of competitive offers from India, South Korea and Egypt this month, who are regular suppliers to the EU. Offers from Iran were also heard subsiding.
