The SAN market faces challenges in 2023 due to continued lack of improvement in demand in February. Some downstream sectors experienced even lower activity versus January.
One such sector remains the construction industry, which has seen a significant decrease in activity in recent weeks.
The fall in prices for PMMA, a material used as a substitute for styrene acrylonitrile (SAN) in some applications, has led to a further decrease in demand.
Additionally, competitive imports also likely contributed to the erosion of domestic demand.
The compounding sector, which has been heavily impacted by the recent energy crisis, continues to struggle.
Most downstream markets operate at similar low levels as last year, such as the appliances and consumer goods sectors.
With high inflation and consumers facing financial strain, demand should remain weak for the foreseeable future.
However, some positive data in January increased the chance that during the second half, activity could start to improve in some markets.