- FOB Korea surges $30-35/mt on day- Phenol plunges below breakeven





While the market for Asian benzene was
supported by oil prices, fundamentals remained relatively unchanged. FOB Korea benzene rose by $30/mt, to $760/mt
Nov. 29. As participants tried to decrease volatility in
the face of daily oil price fluctuations, bidding activity was firm on January
and February laycans FOB Korea. However, the benzene supply was still
long structurally. This was evident in the East China domestic markets, which
were close to switching to contango for December/January's ex-tank laycan. Domestic
prices for downstream phenol plunged further to Yuan 8000/mt or $932.17/mt
ex-tank. This represents a drop of $77.34-83.50/mt over the previous week, and
is below breakeven. Some North China producers remained firm at Yuan
8,300-8,380/mt. Some producers heard maximizing production for
downstream products. The front-month ICE Brent...