BP Refinery Blast: Asian toluene prices flat on weak demand

24 March 2005 10:46  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (CNI)--Asian toluene transactions failed to register higher prices on Thursday despite seller attempts to initiate hikes, following news of the explosion at BP's Texas City refinery on Wednesday night, market sources told CNI.

One deal was confirmed at $730-735/tonne FOB Korea in the afternoon on Thursday, within Wednesday's assessed range of $725-740/tonne FOB Korea.

Sources said the BP news, which surfaced late Wednesday, might have prompted sellers to increase prices. But weak demand in China amid high inventories continued to weigh on market sentiment.

When news of the explosion broke, some sellers immediately hiked notional offers on Thursday morning to $750-760/tonne FOB Korea for second-half April cargoes, compared with $735-740/tonne FOB Korea on Wednesday. However, notional bids remained stable at $720-725/tonne FOB Korea.

With toluene inventories estimated between 80,000 and 100,000 tonne in China, buying interest is unlikely to pick up soon, said the sources. Notional bids were heard in a wide range of $720-750/tonne CFR China.

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