The European general purpose polystyrene spot market has stalled as the industry anticipates a price fall in November, according to sources.
"[Demand] is very weak now," a trader source said, adding that the industry was now awaiting price direction from the November styrene contract price.
Other sources confirmed there had been very little activity in the past week.
The November styrene contract price is expected to fall, which would lead to lower polystyrene prices. As a result, buyers are waiting for the price drop before purchasing.
The first trader source said buyers had not been purchasing large volumes in the past two months and therefore stock levels are low.
"November will be a good month for buying. People will have to buy again," he said.
There were several import offers during the month, but most were deemed uncompetitive, including from South Korea and Egypt.
The price outlook for GPPS is bearish for the rest of the year, removing any incentive for buyers to secure volumes from outside of Europe.
The GPPS spot price was assessed at Eur1,310/mt ($1,547/mt) FD NWE Wednesday, unchanged on the week.
