The Asian benzene market holds early May under sustained downward pressure on the back of a mix of soft downstream demand, macroeconomic headwinds, and escalating geopolitical tensions in South Asia.
Spot benzene prices have remained on the decline in major regional terminals as limited buyer appetite mirrors ongoing concerns over price volatility, poor end-use consumption, and oversupplied benzene markets. A heavy contributing factor is reduced benzene demand from derivative markets such as styrene, phenol, and other aromatics-based products. Regional participants are finding it increasingly hard to secure firm orders amidst prevailing economic uncertainty.
Upstream weakness has driven bear sentiment. Benzene prices dropped to USD xxx/MT FOB Seoul for the week ended May x, showing overall weakness in feedstock-related chemical markets. Macro worries are also present as Chinese export growth moderated to x.xx in April from xx.xx in...
