FocusAsia benzene plunges to 31-month low

16 October 2008 06:15  [Source: ICIS news]

By Mahua Chakravarty

 

SINGAPORE (ICIS news)--Asian benzene fell to its lowest level in 31 months and may not recover soon amid weakening market fundamentals and plummeting crude values, traders and producers said on Thursday.

 

Benzene shed about 10% from Wednesday’s close to $700-720/tonne FOB (free on board), a level not seen since March 2006 according to global chemical market intelligence service ICIS pricing.

 

Against a backdrop of a possible global recession and deepening financial crisis, producers and traders were far from  optimistic.

 

“I have no idea about the bottom in Asia or the US,” said a key South Korean producer, citing poor demand in both regions.

 

Another Singapore-based trader said that it felt that the market would see further fall to $650/tonne FOB Korea levels.

 

Prices have fallen a whopping $285-/tonne or 29% since the week ended 3 October on the back of declining crude values and weakening demand for benzene.

 

“If we can believe that there is a bottom for WTI, then we can hope to find the end-users for benzene,” said a Japanese producer.

 

“There is almost no demand from buyers,” the South Korean producer added.

 

Demand from the key downstream styrene monomer (SM) has been shrinking in the past three months as the derivatives styrenics segment failed to see any strong pick-up as China's economy slows, said traders and producers.

 

Many SM makers who were already running their plants at lower rates are considering further cuts, said the Korean producer.

 

Some end-users were trying to defer or cancel contract agreements, said the Japanese producer. No further confirmation was available.

 

In such a scenario, benzene inventory levels in South Korea and Japan could rise further in the coming weeks, said producers and a trader.

 

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By: Mahua Chakravarty
+65 6780 4359

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