US October benzene contracts drop on weak crude costs, increasing supply

HOUSTON (ICIS)–US October benzene contracts
settled 9% lower over September, as spot values
trend downward with crude costs and increasing
supply.

Contracts settled down to $1.41/gal FOB (free
on board) in the US Gulf, 13 cents/gal
($39/tonne) from the previous month.

Benzene spot prices have plateaued in recent
weeks after trending with upstream energy
costs. WTI crude futures have been trading
rangebound between $36.00/bbl and $43.00/bbl
during the summer.

US benzene contracts typically settle on the
last working day of the prior month and are
largely determined by the average spot price
over the last 10 days of the month.

US spot benzene maintained a
stable trajectory in September as markets
followed a trend in upstream energy values and
rising supplies during the height of hurricane
season.

Benzene is used to produce a number of
intermediates that are used to create polymers,
solvents and detergents.

Major producers of US benzene include
ExxonMobil, Marathon Petroleum, Shell, Flint
Hills Resources, Chevron, CITGO,
LyondellBasell, Valero and Total.

Thumbnail image shows a benzene molecule.
Photo by Cultura/REX/Shutterstock