Early July LAB Prices Slip 4.46% Across the US as Demand Weakness Trumps Benzene Rally

US linear alkyl benzene prices declined *.*** during the week of July **, ****, in one of the most striking market divergences of the year, as a dramatic **.** spike in feedstock benzene costs — which constitute a dominant share of LAB production expenses — failed entirely to translate into higher producer offer levels, overwhelmed by a broad collapse in downstream buyer demand and persistent inventory pressure across the US detergent and surfactant supply chain.

Benzene and kerosene constitute over *** of LAB production costs, with price volatility exceeding *** annually affecting production stability and profit margins. The week&#**;s **.** benzene cost surge would ordinarily have provided producers with compelling grounds to push through substantial FOB offer increases, compressing margins at current LAB prices to levels that make production economics increasingly difficult to sustain. Yet the full force of the feedstock cost increase was...