The spot prices of expandable polystyrene (PSV-C) in the Asian market are declining and may fall further in the coming weeks, if both quotes and demand in the upstream market do not recover, the market participants told ICIS on Thursday.

Price proposals this week for the delivery in October of PSV-S packaging marks from Northeast Asia fell below the USD1,400 per tonne, CFR China, dropping more than USD100 per ton from the level of two weeks ago.

At the end of trading on September 29, before the key market of China was closed for a long holiday period, the PSV-C packaging marks were in the range of USD1,500-1,520 per ton, CFR China, according to ICIS.

In China, there was a non-working week from 1 to 8 October in connection with the celebration of the National Day and the Mid-Autumn Festival. The Taiwanese market, a major supplier of PSV-S in the region, was also closed due to the celebration of the National Day of the country from 7 to 10 October.

Even in spite of the fact that the price proposals have fallen, “the demand has not grown,” said the Chinese trader PSV-S.

Market participants said that although trade in China resumed on October 9, virtually no transactions were registered.

Most end users already have a sufficient amount of material provided through earlier purchases, so they do not plan to replenish their reserves until the end of the year, when PSV-S shipments fall seasonally.

In addition, quotes in the upstream market have fallen, which further exacerbates sentiment among PSV-S sellers.

According to the Price Review of ICIS-MRC, the cost of Russian material remains in the Russian Federation at the same level. The PSV-S prices of the Sibur production are on average 103 000-105 500 rub. per ton, CPT Moscow, including VAT. The Chinese quotation was at the level of USD1 550-1 600 per tonne, CIF St. Petersburg, excluding VAT. Shipment of material from China last week was unavailable due to holidays in the country.