June US domestic polystyrene contracts were settling at a rollover to down 1 cent from May, sources said this week.
Formula-based contracts that include feedstock benzene contract movement could see a decrease of as much as 1 cent/lb, sources said. A rollover in pricing was expected for negotiated contracts due to a small decrease in feedstock benzene contracts for June from May to $2/gal ($598/mt), down 8 cents/gal, sources said.
Typically, a 10 cents/gal movement in benzene contracts is equal to a 1 cent/lb change in styrene and polystyrene production costs, sources have said.
June US domestic polystyrene contracts were assessed at 86-88 cents/lb ($1,896-$1,940/mt) delivered rail car for general-purpose polystyrene and 95-97 cents/lb ($2,094-$2,138/mt) delivered rail car for high-impact polystyrene, down 1 cent/lb based on the decline in benzene contracts.
