Background
ICIS is implementing a process of rolling consultation on all of its pricing methodologies. Consultation paper GMC04/16 is part of this formal process and covers all of the ICIS primary price points included in the benzene weekly publications.
The consultation asked both general questions about the suitability of the ICIS pricing methodology and questions addressing specific benzene market issues.
ICIS received one response. To read the anonymised public response please click on the link below.
ICIS Decision
There was no consensus about the necessity for changes to the current methodology.
In response to the points raised in the one formal response:
ICIS does not disclose the identities of individual contract settlers in the Europe report. However, a list of the key contract settlers may be obtained on request from the editor.
There are no plans to include a China contract price in the ICIS report, since this does not exist in the market.
Full details on how ICIS obtains information from market sources is described in the Benzene Methodology document in the first paragraph, “General Methodology,” and also in the paragraph “Market Communication.”
ICIS does not report on rebates and discounts to the Europe monthly contract reference assessment, as this information is not available from the contract partners. However, general information on the range of discounts may be obtained on request from the editor.
To provide further comments or feedback please contact Barbara Ortner, Head of Market Reporting: Barbara.Ortner@icis.com
