China's March phenol imports up by 11% on improved demand

SINGAPORE (ICIS)--China’s phenol imports in March rose by 11% year on year to 81,440 tonnes amid an improvement in downstream demand after the Chinese New Year holiday in late January, according to statistics from China Customs.

Phenol imports rose by 33% on a month-on-month basis from February as lower availability and a recovery in demand after the holiday boosted buying interest for imported cargoes, according to the data.

Phenol inventory in China is declining because of a lack of deep-sea cargoes, traders said.

The arbitrage window to bring cargoes from Europe and the US to Asia is closing since the first quarter of 2012 because of high production costs in Europe and the US, market sources added.