- Lower energy prices soften sentiment- Styrene margin remains
under pressure





Crude prices pushed the European benzene
markets lower on March 13, according to sources. Market participants waited for
US trading, which would provide further indications of market direction. Benzene fell $9.25/mt to $939.75/mt CIFARA for
the five-to-30 day forward delivery laycan. A trader
stated that crude oil prices dropped by around $3-4/mt in the morning compared
to the weekend. This led to bearish expectations for the price
of benzene. While crude losses decreased throughout the day, traders waited for
trades in the US market for more cues. At 16:30
London Time, the ICE Brent crude front-month swap was valued at $81.55/b, down
$1.11 over the previous day. The strength of the contango
structure between March-April influenced styrene's prices slightly downstream. However,
styrene remained in the spot market...