SINGAPORE--Petrochemical prices in Asia rose on Friday, following a surge in crude oil values overnight which resulted in renewed bullishness in downstream markets, buyers and sellers said.
NYMEX light sweet crude futures for August delivery settled at $141.65/bbl on Thursday, up $5.60 as various geopolitical forces attracted speculative buying.
The market was also spooked by the US dollar resuming its falling trend against major currencies, while Iran testing more long-range missiles and a Nigerian militant group abandoning a cease-fire also caused concerns on supplies.
"It s expected that crude oil prices would rise again, we never doubted it, so what we see in today s [petrochemical] markets is also within expectations," said an aromatics trader in South Korea.
Benzene prices firmed $10/tonne to $1,320-1,330/tonne FOB (free on board) Korea in early trades. Bids for first half August and any August loading cargoes were heard at $1,315-1,320/tonne FOB Korea.
Toluene prices were also $10/tonne higher at $1,255-1,235/tonne FOB Korea on an offer heard at $1,260/tonne FOB Korea for the second half of August. But buying interest remained limited.
Paraxylene (PX) buying indications had similarly moved up, with a firm bid at $1,650/tonne CFR (cost and freight) Taiwan and/or China for August delivery located, while sellers were keeping to the sidelines on hopes that the market could finally shrug off the sluggishness seen throughout most of this week.
"When oil fell, we were all quiet because we guessed, correctly now, that it would be temporary; now we re also quiet as we hope prices can rise further next week," said a South Korean PX trader based in Singapore.
Styrene buy-sell indications for August parcels were originally $10/tonne higher from Thursday at $1,655-1,675/tonne FOB Korea. However, they soon eased to $1,650-1,665/tonne FOB Korea some two hours in the trading day as buyers resistance steeled.
Bucking the trend were the light olefin markets, which were largely unaffected by the surge in overnight crude prices.
Spot propylene fell $30/tonne to $1,720-1,770/tonne CFR China due to an acute oversupply at the shore tanks; while the ethylene market was thinly traded due to a wide buying-selling price gap which had persisted since earlier this week.
Offers for end-July/early August ethylene were at $1,750-1,775/tonne CFR northeast (NE) Asia, against buying ideas firmly under $1,700/tonne CFR.
"We re still monitoring the [upstream] situation, so let s see what happens next week before we say for sure if oil prices meant higher [petrochemical] prices," said a veteran trader at an international firm in Singapore.
NYMEX light sweet crude futures for August delivery settled at $141.65/bbl on Thursday, up $5.60 as various geopolitical forces attracted speculative buying.
The market was also spooked by the US dollar resuming its falling trend against major currencies, while Iran testing more long-range missiles and a Nigerian militant group abandoning a cease-fire also caused concerns on supplies.
"It s expected that crude oil prices would rise again, we never doubted it, so what we see in today s [petrochemical] markets is also within expectations," said an aromatics trader in South Korea.
Benzene prices firmed $10/tonne to $1,320-1,330/tonne FOB (free on board) Korea in early trades. Bids for first half August and any August loading cargoes were heard at $1,315-1,320/tonne FOB Korea.
Toluene prices were also $10/tonne higher at $1,255-1,235/tonne FOB Korea on an offer heard at $1,260/tonne FOB Korea for the second half of August. But buying interest remained limited.
Paraxylene (PX) buying indications had similarly moved up, with a firm bid at $1,650/tonne CFR (cost and freight) Taiwan and/or China for August delivery located, while sellers were keeping to the sidelines on hopes that the market could finally shrug off the sluggishness seen throughout most of this week.
"When oil fell, we were all quiet because we guessed, correctly now, that it would be temporary; now we re also quiet as we hope prices can rise further next week," said a South Korean PX trader based in Singapore.
Styrene buy-sell indications for August parcels were originally $10/tonne higher from Thursday at $1,655-1,675/tonne FOB Korea. However, they soon eased to $1,650-1,665/tonne FOB Korea some two hours in the trading day as buyers resistance steeled.
Bucking the trend were the light olefin markets, which were largely unaffected by the surge in overnight crude prices.
Spot propylene fell $30/tonne to $1,720-1,770/tonne CFR China due to an acute oversupply at the shore tanks; while the ethylene market was thinly traded due to a wide buying-selling price gap which had persisted since earlier this week.
Offers for end-July/early August ethylene were at $1,750-1,775/tonne CFR northeast (NE) Asia, against buying ideas firmly under $1,700/tonne CFR.
"We re still monitoring the [upstream] situation, so let s see what happens next week before we say for sure if oil prices meant higher [petrochemical] prices," said a veteran trader at an international firm in Singapore.
