Asian Benzene - Fundamentals remain bearish- Low demand and a large supply. Prices- Downstream remains lacklusterAs fundamentals remained bearish, the Asian
benzene markets ended the week on a calm note. Although demand was very
low in Asia, due to the poor economic margins in downstream sectors, some
sources indicated that there were a few parcels booked for August to go into
China. A few people thought that the
supply was quite ample. The trade session
concluded on a flattish July 22. FOB Korea
benzene physical rose $2-4/mt, to $1,051-1,080/mt. East China's domestic benzene marker dropped Yuan 30-50/mt
from Yuan 8,995-9,200/mt or around $2.17-3.50/mt. This equates to $1,155.79-1,180.50/mt
if you consider import-parity. The
sentiment in the benzene derivatives market was not positive. Mid-morning, August paper bids were low at $1,045-1,080/mt,
compared to $1,047-1,080/mt, but they grew to $1,040-1,080/mt...