Tokyo (Platts)--19Dec2012/535 am EST/1035 GMT

Japan's output of styrene monomer in November was 222,575 mt, up 23% from October but down 8% year on year, the Japan Styrene Industry Association announced Tuesday.

This was the highest production of SM in a month since January when output soared to 237,900 mt.

The month-on-month increase follows firm overseas demand, which lifted Japan's SM exports in November by 30% month on month to 109,586 mt. SM exports, however, were down 17% year on year in November.

SM sales in the domestic market stood at 108,134 mt in November, down 8% from October and flat year on year.

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Japan's output of polystyrene, a major end product of styrene, stood at 53,694 mt in November, up 6% from October and up 23% year on year.

At the end of November, SM producers in Japan held stocks totaling 63,269 mt, up 12% from the end of October but down 19% from a year earlier.

--Anton Ferkov, anton_ferkov@platts.com
--Edited by E Shailaja Nair, shailaja_nair@platts.com

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