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Toluene prices, markets & analysis

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Market Overview

Updated to Q3 2019

Asia

Supply was sufficient for most parts of the second quarter, but increased towards late May and June because some downstream producers started to cut their operating rates. This was amid a squeezed toluene-benzene price spread. Limited maintenance plans during the second quarter resulted in ample supply as well.

Demand was mixed in the second quarter owing to poor downstream production spreads in northeast Asia and sporadic gasoline blending demand opportunities in southeast Asia. Mostly slow import demand from China, except in May, contributed to this fluctuation as well. Demand from India was regular as there was limited change in the downstream solvent sector.

Europe

Revived output from two Mediterranean plants (Italy’s Versalis and Petrogal’s Portuguese refineries) boosted toluene availability after a slight tightening effect earlier in the year. Strike action at the Porto site had limited impact. There was a localised, short-term supply impact from the power outage at INEOS’ Dormagen refinery in Cologne on 17 May, which produces toluene and mixed xylenes via the pyrolysis gasoline (pygas) route, with restarts over the following week.

Chemical demand for toluene was stable or muted, though firmer in the context of BASF’s major TDI plant restarting in 2019 after its late 2018 shutdown. Demand from benzene – made with toluene via the hydrodealkylation (HDA) process – continued to be questionable. Benzene- toluene spreads have been negative for more than a year, at times near -$200/tonne. Buying in the toluene market got a short-term boost on concern over INEOS’ May Dormagen outage.

US

Toluene supply lengthened as refiners increased operating rates in preparation for the summer gasoline season and as previous shipping logistics concerns were resolved, allowing for increased imports from Asia.

Demand for toluene for the gasoline blending sector was boosted by preparations for the summer gasoline season. Lengthening supply put downward pressure on the market, pushing prices closer in line with the blend value, discouraging producers from extracting the aromatic from the gasoline-blending pool for sale in the chemical market. Demand for toluene for on-purpose benzene and paraxylenes (PX) production waned.

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How we can help

Whether you are buying or selling toluene, ICIS provides you with the right pricing data, analytics, news and market analysis you need to confidently plan and make your trades, as well as shape future strategies and maintain a competitive advantage.

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Services

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  • Key trading prices: Spot/contract, import/export and domestic toluene on a daily and weekly basis

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  • Price alerts and market updates: Shifts in prices, breaking news, market developments and supply demand trends
  • Plant data: Production and capacity, plant maintenance and shutdowns
  • Feedstock/downstream information: Prices and market commentary on upstream commodities such as benzene and phenol and downstream markets
  • Weekly market sentiment: Near-term price direction and appetite of buyers and sellers in active trading regions
  • Supply and demand: Analysis of domestic and international supply and demand

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ICIS publishes daily and weekly pricing reports for toluene to help you keep track of trading prices, understand price drivers/fluctuations and set a benchmark for contract price settlements. Information covered in our price reports includes:

Asia

  • FOB South Korea
  • CFR NE Asia, SE Asia, India, China
  • Ex-tank E China, Ex-tank India

Europe

  • FOB NWE
  • ROB R’Dam
  • CIF Med

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Each ICIS toluene pricing subscription comes with analytics tools that take away the hassle of developing your own analysis. Quickly access data such as:

  • Price Drivers Analytics: An interactive map identifying net price differences between regions, factoring in freight costs and duties, to enrich the global picture of cross-regional competition and import and export opportunities.

    • toulene-img-3

  • Price Optimisation Analytics: An interactive map identifying net price differences between regions, factoring in freight and duties costs, to enrich the global picture of cross-regional competition and import and export opportunities.
  • Live Disruptions Tracker – Supply: Real-time view of domestic and global supply, plant outages and start-ups for the next 12 months, plus the impact of these changes.
  • Live Disruptions Tracker – Impact: A tool that visualises supply disruptions using live data, as validated by ICIS production news with an impact view connecting downstream shutdowns to show consumption capacity loss in real time.
  • Margin Analytics – Get actionable variable cost margins by feedstock/process type and location, with analyst insight
  • Supply & Demand Outlooks: Quarterly supply and demand outlooks for toluene.

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ICIS brings you breaking chemical news as it happens – including market moves, analysis, data and more. The service is reliable, authoritative and always available when you need it most.

Stay on top of toluene markets across all regions with ICIS news.toulene-img-4

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  • Access to 900,000 articles and over 10 years of news archives

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Get a long-term view of the market with the ICIS Supply and Demand Data Service, which offers end-to-end perspectives of the toluene markets.

Gain quick access to data on import and export volumes, plant capacities, production, product trade flows, companies and route. With historical data from 1978 and forecasts available up to 2040, this powerful data and analytics service from ICIS helps senior management, strategists, business planners, analysts and risk managers to:

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Working closely with you to understand your strategies, challenges and ambitions, the consulting team at ICIS delivers tailored advice and solutions to suit your unique requirements. With many years of experience in guiding business leadership teams, we show you how market conditions can make a positive or negative impact on your long-term plans.

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Methodology

Our Pricing Methodology: ICIS price assessments are based on information gathered from a wide cross-section of the market, comprising consumers, producers, traders and distributors from more than 250 reporters worldwide. Confirmed deals, verified by both buyers and sellers, provide the foundation of our price assessments.

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