NWE benzene price
surge expected to ease on styrene turnaround
The European spot
price of benzene hit its highest since November 20, 2014 on Tuesday at $980/mt
CIF ARA, as benzene exports from Europe in December emptied out almost every
dated barrel in Europe, sources said. The backwardation between January and
February was assessed at $50/mt, rising from the $17/mt assessed on Monday.
“There is not that much benzene around. All the derivatives are doing well,”
noted one trader, adding that relative to the price of styrene, benzene was not
that expensive at the moment. In the European styrene market, prices between
January and February have been seen in a contango as February is deemed to be
tighter. Trinseo is expected to have a turnaround at its 500,000 mt/year
Terneuzen unit in mid-February which will last over three weeks. “The Trinseo
turnaround will cool the [benzene] market down,” noted a second benzene trader
late Tuesday. On Tuesday, January styrene trades were reported at $1,270/mt and
February deals concluded at $1,300/mt, pointing to a widening contango from
$10/mt on Monday. assessed the contango
at $25/mt Tuesday as there were February offers outstanding at $1,300/mt at
market close, disproving the earlier trades.
LyondellBasell says
January US polypropylene CP to follow US PGP movement
Effective January 1,
the transaction price for all grades of US polypropylene will follow the change
in polymer-grade propylene’s domestic January contract settlement at two
LyondellBasell subsidiaries, LyondellBasell said in a letter to customers
obtained by S&P Global . LyondellBasell subsidiaries Equistar Chemicals and
Mexico-based Basell Poliolefinas are the second producers to News announce such
notice. Total Petrochemicals & Refining USA announced a similar change in
US polypropylene contract pricing on January 4. A company spokeswoman could not
be reached for comment. An initial nomination for January US propylene contract
prices called for a 10-cent increase to 41.5 cents/lb for polymer-grade product
and 40 cents for chemical-grade product, sources said Tuesday. ExxonMobil
Chemical is the only producer to announce a propylene contract price nomination
of 10 cents/lb, sources said. Producer confirmation was unavailable. There was
market talk of another producer nominating a 12 cents/lb increase in propylene
contracts, but could not be confirmed by time of publication. The nomination is
higher than market expectations, which recently called for an increase of 5-7
cents/lb. US spot polymer-grade propylene pricing has risen 7 cents/lb or 21%
since the start of the year, assessed Tuesday at 40.25-40.75 cents/lb FD USG
for prompt-month and February deliveries. Sources cited the hike in pricing to
refinery turnaround season in the US Gulf Coast starting this month, which
could impact supply availability. Additionally, some sources cited the hike in
pricing to strong buying interest from a major producer. In markets, spot
export pricing was assessed Tuesday at $981-$1,003/mt (44.5-45.5 cents/lb) FAS
Houston for homopolymer injection grades. Co-polymer spot for export was
assessed Wednesday at $1,036- $1,058/mt (47-48 cents/lb) FAS Houston.
For Daily chemical report ,kindly call or Whatsapp at- 9599622045.
For Daily chemical report ,kindly call or Whatsapp at- 9599622045.
