Taiwanese ABS concluded lower in Vietnam, buyers remain cautious

Vietnamese buyers this week reported to have concluded deals for Taiwanese ABS at $15/ton reduction from initial offers, reaching $1845/ton CIF Vietnam, LC AS term. Falling upstream costs are blamed for the reduction, however, buyers are not very eager to make fresh buy despite low stock on hand.

A converter purchased the cargoes said, “We only buy a small quantity to meet immediate requirement. Market seems still have room to move lower in the near term, hence we prefer to be cautious.” Several other buyers have expressed similar intention to wait-and-see given the bearish prospect in the butadiene market.

As reported earlier, the Asia butadiene market is under supply pressure with two new plants in China with total capacity of 150,000 tons/year started supplying to the spot market.