Asian benzene: Up $13.67-18.50/mt amid firm bids■ September/October Spread narrows■ The downstream demand and margins are still weakAsian benzene prices rose from $13.67-18.50/mt
to $966.67-980.50/mt FOB Korea, Aug. 12. In the afternoon trading session, the bids started to rise.
The last time the MOC time was heard, the price for October loading FOB Korea
was $965-980/mt. After the MOC time for
October loading FOB Korea, a trade deal was reached at $965-980/mt. The inter-month spread H2 September/October was further
narrowed by $2-3/mt at $1-2/mt FOB Korea backwardation. According to trade sources, overall demand is still slow due
to lower operating rates for downstream styrene monomer, polystyrene, and SM
sectors. Additionally, a large number of term contracts for SM were canceled,
which caused slower demand for benzene. A
trader said that while the benzene margin remains relatively healthy,...