On Wednesday, April 4, Asian pure benzene market rebounded slightly, FOB Korea closed at US $1072.50-1073.50, up $4.25 per ton, FOB South East Asia increased by $2.25, and closed at $1066.25-1067.25 per ton, being influenced by the increase in May crude oil and the uncertainty in US pure benzene market.
Market participants said that Asian market was nervous to a certain extent, but some other were of the openion that the price decline in backward futures indicated that April market supply and demand were basically balanced
According to traders, Asian spot market is expected to remain relatively tight in April as a large number of cargoes (about 9000-15000 tons) will be sent to Southeast Asian market during this period.
Another report expressed, last week outages of S-Oil aromatics and TDP device reached about 9,000 tons, also contributing to supply shortage.
The market clearly gave a signal of tension in Korean market when Mitsui & Co. offered at US $1,078 / mt CFR for April shipment, but had the offer withdrawn by close time.