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After experiencing the extremely tight market in the first half of this year, the supply of pure benzene in the United States and Europe may return to normal in the second half of this year and ease the demand for Asian goods
.
In the United States, limited imports of pure benzene from South Korea and the unusually low operating rate of refineries have made benzene stocks very low, even though the winter storm in mid-February caused over 4.
6 million barrels/day of refining capacity to stop in Texas and Louisiana.
Before
.
Due to the interruption of supplies from the United States and limited imports from Asia, trade and transportation to Europe, which are in the spot premium market, have been disrupted
As South Korean pure benzene cargoes begin to arrive at the US Gulf Coast (USGC) in large quantities, the US supply will increase around July
.
According to data from the Korea Trade Association (KITA), the volume of pure benzene shipped from South Korea to the coast of the United States from May 1 to 10 is roughly the same as that of April.
Due to the amazing profit rate of pure benzene in the first half of the year, many Asian producers have maintained high-load operations in order to maximize profits
.
From January to April, the average Asian pure benzene-naphtha price difference was US$240/ton, and it once hit a high of US$475/ton in mid-April
The source said that with the gradual recovery of supply, the prospects for profit margins of pure benzene in Asia in the second half of the year are still uncertain, and it is still possible to maintain the higher profit margins in the first half of the year
.
Platts analysis said: "The recovery of local demand in Europe and the United States may accelerate rapidly in the next six months
Demand for downstream products such as styrene and phenol is expected to remain healthy
.
In Europe, the reduction of new coronary pneumonia cases and the advancement of vaccination programs provide hope for the lifting of the blockade across Europe, which will support the further increase in the demand for pure benzene and its derivatives
This year, China’s new downstream capacity increase has been delayed and started, but overall demand for pure benzene has increased, especially in southern China where commercial storage has not been widely used
.
At the same time, it is expected that China's integrated refining and chemical plants will have an oversupply of benzene, because the start of the styrene units of these refineries has been delayed until 2022
There is a huge gap between buying and selling orders in the CFR Asian market.
Because the seller considers the global delivery price, the spot quotation faced by CFR Asian buyers is almost 10 times the contract price of benzene this year
.
A buyer said: “It is difficult for Asian buyers to bear such an increase in benzene prices
