Europe March benzene confirmed at €1,003/tonne

LONDON (ICIS)–The European benzene settlement for March has been confirmed at €1,003/tonne, down €52/tonne from the previous month, as the initial settlement receive further support from players on Monday.

The contract was agreed at a US dollar concept of $1,370/tonne FOB (free on board) NWE (northwest Europe) and converted to the euro price at the agreed exchange rate of €1:$1.3659.

A decrease for March had been widely expected given current European spot levels, with softening US prices helping ease some of the bullishness seen since the start of the year.

However, with demand from the phenol sector improving and the spread of benzene over naphtha dropping to close to $400/tonne, many European players believed that this was the current floor for the market.