- Ningbo Zhongjin will begin maintenance on Aug 5.- Lotte Chemical Titan sells
3,000 mt benzene- Sep/Oct Physical
Backwardation at $22







After a strong start, trading momentum in
the Asian market for benzene declined on July 21. A bearish sentiment about
thin demand continued to push prices. Arbitrage flows to the US were difficult because
of high freight costs and lackluster demand in Asia. Participants
said that this trend could continue into September as chartering costs for
August remained high and were unlikely to drop anytime soon. The session
heard October physical offers for FOB Korean cargoes, with the lowest at $1,035-1,060/mt. September/October's
physical spread was $22-27/mt. A few traders appeared to be looking
for safety in spread trading benzene–naphtha. August
benzene/naphtha spread trading was the most competitive with an offer and bid
of $280-300/mt. This...