Europe Jan benzene contract price confirmed at €994/tonne
Truong Mellor
31-Dec-2013
LONDON (ICIS)–The European benzene settlement for January has been confirmed at €994/tonne, up €37/tonne from the previous month, as the initial settlement received further support from players on Tuesday.
The contract was agreed at a US dollar concept of $1,373/tonne and converted to the euro price at the agreed exchange rate of €1:$1.3813.
Despite the end of the year traditionally being a slow month, some tightness for physical product in Europe and bullishness in the US helped support pricing throughout December.
Several traders commented that the number was largely
expected, with a range of $1,370-1,375/tonne discussed for
the January contract.
However, the outlook for the upcoming month was less certain,
with diverging views among players about the possible
direction of the market.
Some downstream players believe that European benzene has
been overheated in the run-up to the January contract talks,
and expect prices to ease in the New Year, while others
believe that production concerns will keep availability
limited.
“It seems logical to go short from a seasonal viewpoint, but
the market is physically tight,” said one benzene trader.
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