EVENING SNAPSHOT - Europe Markets Summary

09 January 2009 17:00  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS news)--Here is Friday's end-of-day European oil and chemical market summary from ICIS pricing.

CRUDE: February WTI: $40.05/bbl, down $1.65/bbl. February BRENT: $43.44/bbl, down $1.23/bbl

Price movements in the afternoon summed up the week as demand-side worries over the weakness of the global economy outweighed supply-side concerns from the unrest in the Middle East and OPEC’s output cuts.

NAPHTHA: Open-spec spot cargoes were assessed in a $305-315/tonne CIF (cost, insurance and freight) NWE (northwest Europe) range, down $7/tonne on the buy-side of the range set earlier in the day. January swaps were pegged at $305-307/tonne CIF NWE.

BENZENE: Two February trades took place at $320/tonne CIF ARA (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Antwerp), both inter-trade. More February deals were reported from yesterday at $300/tonne and $305/tonne, one of which was from industry to trade. The market was in contango, as January levels were pegged at $265-285/tonne. A March deal was furthermore confirmed at $325/tonne CIF ARA.

STYRENE: An afternoon February styrene inter-trade deal was confirmed at $660/tonne FOB Rotterdam. A January trade from Thursday was also confirmed at $705/tonne, albeit for EU material. Offers for any origin were stable at $690/tonne FOB Rotterdam for January.

TOLUENE: Afternoon bids and offers for toluene were heard at $410-430/tonne FOB Rotterdam for the first half of January, up $5/tonne from previous levels. An afternoon offer for a 1,000 tonne parcel for delivery any time in January was also heard at $435/tonne.

Initial January contracts for European toluene were agreed at $405-415/tonne FOB Rotterdam on Friday, a drop of $42.50-55/tonne (€31.02-40.15/tonne) from December price levels. This value range was agreed by two producers and a buyer, but further confirmation was pending.

MTBE: MTBE was bid and offered between $445-462/tonne FOB AR (Amsterdam, Rotterdam) in the afternoon before narrowing to $453-461/tonne FOB AR. Gasoline did not trade in the afternoon, but was bid and offered between $369-372/tonne FOB AR, pegging the factor, based on the wider bid/offer range, between 1.21-1.24.

XYLENES: In the absence of any firm bids or offers this afternoon, paraxylene values for January remained notionally stable at $600-620/tonne FOB Rotterdam.

($1 = €0.73)

For more pricing intelligence please visit ICIS pricing

By: Staff Reporter
+44 20 8652 3214

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