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Toluene prices, markets & analysis

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Market Overview

Updated to Q2 2020

Asia

With turnarounds gradually ended, supply increased. The market saw some recovery with slightly boosted sentiment.

As the coronavirus situation improved in some parts of Asia, especially China, demand gradually picked up. In addition, oil prices slowly increased, which further boosted buying sentiment.

Europe

Toluene supply was adequate in Q2. There were no production issues and product was readily obtainable due to low demand from downstream sectors due to the impact of coronavirus. Furthermore, the availability of toluene in Europe was observed to be better than mixed xylenes. Some distributors of truck toluene were facing issues over increasing inventories. This was due to weak market conditions and buyers were not willing to pay the inflated toluene truck prices.

Price differentials in Q2 between toluene and benzene remained mainly in negative territory making circumstances unfeasible. There has been a large decline in downstream TDI demand since April, but there were moderate signs of an improvement in June. Demand was generated primarily from the blending sector in Q2, but some demand was capped as blenders had other options available. The arbitrage window for supplies from Europe to the US remained mainly closed in Q2.

US

Supply was stymied as derivative demand waned amid coronavirus lockdown measures. The US continued to be a net importer going into Q2 2020, seeing spikes in volumes compared to previous years’ levels. Refiners indicated toluene supplies were kept in storage facilities rather than prioritised for derivative commodity production. Volumes grew only as imports continued into the US gulf region.

Demand was rather weak as the pandemic forced many producers to reevaluate market conditions, particularly focusing on benzene and other downstream commodity markets. Fuel blending activity, however, showed some resurgence in the quarter amid increased transportation demand and gradual signs that the US economy was prepared to reopen. Some producers noted that demand going into TDP units was very limited during the quarter.

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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.

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  • 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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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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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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Benzene

News

July IPEX rises on US, Europe industry revival but falls 25% year on year
Tue, 04 Aug 2020 13:54

LONDON (ICIS)--Global petrochemical prices rebounded in July as pandemic-induced lockdowns continued to ease in North America and Europe and industrial activity revived, pushing the monthly IPEX...

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US benzene demand to rise in H2, strengthening upstream to add support
Mon, 27 Jul 2020 21:55

HOUSTON (ICIS)--US benzene demand looks to strengthen slightly into the second half of 2020 on rising derivative demand, although pricing is expected to generally follow energy values. BENZENE MOVES...

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Americas top stories: weekly summary
Mon, 27 Jul 2020 14:00

HOUSTON (ICIS)--Here are the top stories from ICIS News from the week ended 24 July. Celanese to sell Polyplastics stake for $1.575bn after lagging performance Celanese decided to sell its 45% stake...

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BASF declares force majeure from US TDI plant
Fri, 24 Jul 2020 19:25

HOUSTON (ICIS)--BASF has declared force majeure from its toluene diisocyanate (TDI) plant in Geismar, Louisiana, a company spokesperson confirmed on Friday. The plant has a capacity of 160,000...

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