Polystyrene (GPPS) Price Trend and Forecast

Regional Price Overview

Get the latest insights on price movement and trend analysis of General Purpose Polystyrene (GPPS) in different regions across the world (Asia, Europe, North America, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa).

General Purpose Polystyrene (GPPS) Price Trend for the the Second Half of 2023

Asia

The General Purpose Polystyrene (GPPS) prices started slowly in the Asian markets at the beginning of the third quarter as the suppliers were still dealing with the available stocks in inventories. However, soon, the prices started picking up following the surge in demand after mid-Q3.

Polystyrene (GPPS) Price Chart

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The price graph started inclining as more and more orders came in. However, as the fourth quarter began, the situation started reversing again, and the price graph started flattening during this time. The international trade dynamics were disturbed because of the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea. This massively affected the international orders for General Purpose Polystyrene (GPPS) and made the price trend struggle as the year-end approached. Overall, a largely lukewarm performance was witnessed in H2’23.

Europe

The European General Purpose Polystyrene (GPPS) industry performed well for the majority of the discussed period. As the supply and demand outlooks maintained a healthy balance, consistent growth was observed in the market.

It was only around the latter half of the fourth quarter that the price trend started going down slightly because of demand depreciation, but overall, market sentiments were largely positive. The half-yearly appreciation in the average monthly prices around the discussed span was approximately 10% as the prices went from about 1602 USD/MT in July’23 to around 1763 USD/MT in December of 2023.

North America

The American General Purpose Polystyrene (GPPS) industry was more influenced by the Asian market as the price trend here was observed to be struggling throughout the said period. The monthly average prices went from around 2182 USD/MT in July to about 1653 USD/MT in December ‘23. Overall, muted market sentiments were witnessed.

Analyst Insight

According to Procurement Resource, the General Purpose Polystyrene (GPPS) price trends are expected to continue fluctuating in the coming months. The trade outlook will be more tilted towards the demand dynamics.

Polystyrene (GPPS) Price Trend for the First Half of 2023

Asia

The first quarter of 2023 saw a gradual decline in the price trend of polystyrene (GPPS), as the major cause of this fall was the consistent ups and downs in the crude oil sector. The supply of products was further hampered by the delays due to labor strikes. Another cause of worry for the manufacturers was the low demand from the downstream industries.

These problems were further amplified in the second quarter as the packaging and derivatives industries were hit by a low volume of sales. In the latter half of the second quarter, the level of inventories at the domestic ports inclined, causing the traders to lower their bids and thus leading to the notable decline in the price trend of polystyrene (GPPS).

Europe

High fluctuation in crude oil prices affected the domestic demand for polystyrene (GPPS), and with seasonal fluctuations in the region, the price trend of polystyrene (GPPS) declined in the first quarter of 2023. Along with the weak demand dynamics of the region, the polystyrene (GPPS) market, the second quarter also witnessed feeble trading sentiments as the oversupply at ports and sluggish consumption rates had a negative impact on the prices. In addition to this, the feedstock prices and high economic uncertainties caused the price trend of polystyrene (GPPS) to move southwards.

North America

In North America, the crude oil market led to a rise in the cost of production that widened the supply-demand gap in the region. The procurement rates improved slightly in the middle of the second quarter with the help of improvement in the consumption rates, but soon, the debt crisis swallowed the growth potential of the economy, and with struggling feedstock costs, the price trend of polystyrene (GPPS) declined gradually.

Analyst Insight

According to Procurement Resource, the price trend of Polystyrene (GPPS) is expected to fall in the upcoming months as the demand from the end-user industries does not seem to support the growth of polystyrene (GPPS) market.

Procurement Resource provides latest prices of Polystyrene (GPPS). Each price database is tied to a user-friendly graphing tool dating back to 2014, which provides a range of functionalities: configuration of price series over user defined time period; comparison of product movements across countries; customisation of price currencies and unit; extraction of price data as excel files to be used offline.