China's February 2013 imports of acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene came in at 87,283 mt, the lowest since February 1999, partly due to higher prices and the the Lunar New Year holidays, according to official data.
The imports slipped 39.4% from 144,126 mt in January and plunged 42.6% from 152,053 mt a year earlier, preliminary data from the General Administration of Customs released Friday showed.
In February 1999, China's ABS imports totaled 60,538 mt, Platts data showed.
In the two first months of 2013, China imported 231,497 mt of ABS, down 12.3% year on year, the customs data showed.
There was no information on supply sources of the imported ABS.
The Lunar New Year holiday in China in February dampened demand during the month, market sources said. In addition, the price of ABS hit a high of $2,055/mt CFR China in the third week of February -- the highest since the third week of April, 2012, when it was at $2,060/mt CFR China, Platts data showed.
The price of ABS was higher in February last year, hovering between $2,095/mt and 2,185/mt CFR China, Platts data showed.
