February US benzene CP settles 36 cents lower at $4.80/gal: sources
Houston (Platts)--31Jan2013/226 pm EST/1926 GMT
The February US benzene contract price settled 36 cents/gal ($107.64/mt)
lower at $4.80/gal ($1,435.20/mt), sources said Thursday.
The last time the benzene CP settled lower was in September, when it
settled at $4.20/gal, down 40 cents from August.
Sources expected a drop in the CP settlement due to lower spot benzene
prices that have been trending downward since January 18, when it was
assessed at $4.98/gal FOB US Gulf Coast. Spot levels have been pressured by
excess supply from derivative turnarounds and steady benzene imports from
Asia against limited demand support.
Expectations were heard as low as $4.75/gal, according to sources. The
previous US benzene contract price, in January, settled at $5.16/gal.
US spot benzene for February was assessed at $4.77/gal FOB USG Wednesday
and was talked early Thursday in the range of $4.61-$4.72/gal FOB USG.
http://www.platts.com/RSSFeedDetailedNews/RSSFeed/Petrochemicals/6100599
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