Falls $18/mt on the day Overall
fundamentals still bullish



Asian
Isomer MX was $18/mt to $21/mt higher day-on-day, following the fall in western
crude benchmarks whose upside was halted by decreasing geopolitical tensions. The April ICE Brent crude oil futures contract closed at
$90.97/b- $90.110/b at 4:30 pm Singapore time. This was down from the previous
Asian closing of $91.85/b- $91.90/b. Trade
for any March cargo was last made at $951/mt- $960/mt FOB Korea during the
Market on Close assessment process. Market
participants maintained that fundamentals are strong, despite falling prices. Sources said that bullish sentiment was fuelled by the
widening spread between paraxylene-MX and isomer - South Korean producers have
been exporting fewer Isomer MX cargoes to favor PX production. According to one trade source, the absence of viable
arbitrage routes would likely result...