The Asian toluene market continues to be at same level as it was previously, and prices rolled over in the last week. This trend was supported by several factors in the market, such as the decline in energy prices and upsteam crude oil, consistent regional supply, and declining demand in the major downstream markets, for instance, petrochemicals and solvents.
One of the factors contributing to this is the huge decline in benzene prices, which is one of the key derivatives of toluene. This has been responsible for the prevailing bearish sentiment, and as a result, local buying interest has reduced. Regional inventories have been maintained at optimal levels while export demand has been weak, and sellers have been forced to lower prices to induce procurement activity. The laggard regional market has been supplemented with bearish cues from the overseas markets, spearheaded by the United States, where toluene...
