Europe Dec benzene gains further support, confirmed at €957/tonne
Truong Mellor
02-Dec-2013
LONDON (ICIS)–The
European December benzene contract has been confirmed at
€957/tonne, up €109/tonne from the previous month, as
the initial settlement late last week
received further support from players on Monday.
The contract was agreed at a US dollar concept of
$1,301/tonne FOB (free on board) NWE (northwest Europe) and
converted to the euro price at the agreed exchange rate of
€1:$1.3595.
Despite slower demand among key derivative
markets ahead of December and the holiday period, some
tightness on feedstock availability has supported a sharp
upturn in pricing towards the end of last month, and a
sizable increase had been predicted.
Even with several crackers coming back
online after maintenance
turnarounds, there remains a backlog
in the supply chain which is keeping availability tight at
least for prompt material.
“A lot of material left Europe in October and
November,” one source added. “Now the front end of December
is very tight.”
The fire at Chevron’s Pascagoula refinery
in Mississippi also saw a spike in US pricing, and has pulled
significant volumes out of Europe as players look to ship
cargo to the region.
Sources in the phenolic chain have
expressed concern that a sizable
increase for benzene could not be supported by the market in
December, which is traditionally the slowest month of the
year in terms of demand.
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