Asia’s Benzene Margins Struggle to Recover On Surging Naphtha Costs
Asia’s benzene market is showing tentative signs of margin recovery, but producers remain under sustained pressure as feedstock disruptions linked to the Middle East conflict continue to distort cost structures and trade flows across the region, according to industry sources. Read More
USGC Benzene April Contract Settles at 409cts/gal, Volume Rises to a Near Two-Year High
The U.S. Gulf Coast benzene contract price for April has settled at 409cts/gal ($1,224/mt), marking a significant 96cts/gal ($287/mt) increase from the March settlement. This represents the sharpest monthly climb since October 2023, according to OPIS data. Market liquidity saw a massive rebound during the April window, with 1.31 million barrels traded—a 170% increase over March’s 485,000 barrels. This surge represents the highest trading volume since February 2024, reflecting a market scrambling to price in heightened energy futures following the geopolitical shocks in late February. Read More
Middle Eastern Styrene Exports Come To Near Full Stop
Saudi Arabia and Kuwait typically account for approximately 34% of global styrene monomer (SM) trade flows. SM exports, which were primarily shipped via the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, have come to an almost complete stop, resulting in force majeure declarations on SM supply from CP Chem and SABIC in Saudi Arabia and Equate in Kuwait. Read More
Sabic Petchem Complex Hit as Gulf Strikes Escalate, Adding to Supply-Side Risks
Attacks on Saudi Arabia’s eastern industrial hub of Jubail triggered a fire at facilities operated by Saudi Basic Industries Corp., intensifying geopolitical tensions across the Gulf and heightening concerns over petrochemical supply disruptions. Read More
Europe’s Chemical Industry Faces Fight for Survival
The Cefic Chemical Trends Report published at the start of March underscores the perilous state of Europe's chemical industry and its fight for its survival, indicating urgent action is needed for the chemical sector to survive and support European industry as it has for much of the 20th century and the first decade of the 21st century. Read More
Europe Faces Uphill Battle to Replenish Gas Stocks by Q4
European natural gas buyers faces an uphill battle in a competition with Asia to secure enough tonnage ahead of the fourth quarter this year, as inventories in Europe fall close to four-year lows, data from Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE) showed. Read More
Asia’s Benzene Market Dislocated as Feedstock Shock Ripples Through Petchem Chain
Asia’s benzene market has entered one of its most volatile phases in recent years, as geopolitical disruptions, feedstock shortages and structural demand constraints converge to reshape pricing dynamics across the region. Read More
APAC, EU rPET Prices Rise as Middle East Tensions Disrupt Supply Chains
Recycled polyethylene terephthalate or rPET premium flakes and bale prices across the Asia Pacific and Europe are facing mounting pressure following the escalating Middle East conflict, as rising energy costs, feedstock disruptions and freight volatility reshape market dynamics across both regions. Read More
China’s Polyester Industry Faces Margin Erosion as Supply Chain Volatility Hits
The Chinese polyester industry is currently weathering a storm of margin erosion and supply chain volatility, driven by escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, with the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz choking essential petrochemical supply lines and sending feedstock costs upwards. Read More
Asia Benzene Jumps Nearly 8% as Iran Crisis Roils Feedstock, Freight Markets
Benzene spot prices in Asia surged nearly 8% on Monday as oil futures rallied and market participants sought to digest the risk of a broadening conflict in the Middle East, raising fears of prolonged disruptions to crude, naphtha and gas supply. Read More
Sinopec Cuts Toluene List Price as Demand Slows
Sinopec lowered its domestic east China toluene list price by 100 yuan per metric ton ($14.44/mt) to 5,500 yuan/mt ex-warehouse on Feb. 5, the company’s first downward price adjustment after a series of hikes in January, market sources said on Tuesday. Read More
Asia PX Prices Rebound on Pre-Holiday Demand Surge
Asia’s paraxylene prices have rebounded from a brief dip in early February, resuming an upward trajectory. OPIS data shows that prices averaged $894.94 per metric ton CFR China during the first three working days of the month. Although this average sits 2.3% below late-January levels, the steady gains made over the three days suggest a sustained recovery is underway, according to market sources. Read More
Rising Demand Fuels Surge in South Korea’s December Aromatics Exports
South Korea’s aromatics exports surged in December, driven by rising regional demand and improved market sentiment. The uptrend was largely underpinned by improving downstream margins which incentivized end-users to ramp up procurement activities as the year drew to a close, industry sources said on Tuesday. Read More
China Phenol Extends Fall as Inflows, Spring Festival Add to Selling Pressure
Spot phenol prices in eastern China fell to a fresh five-year low last week, as steady inflows and the absence of planned plant turnarounds ahead of next month’s Spring Festival intensified selling pressure, according to market sources. Read More
China’s SM Rewrites Trade Flows; Outages and Exports Drain Supply
China’s styrene monomer market tightened sharply in December, marking a decisive shift from the oversupplied conditions that had defined much of the second half of the year, as a combination of plant turnarounds, unexpected technical shutdowns and firm export demand reduced domestic availability and lifted prices from multi-year lows, according to market sources. Read More
India Phenol at 2025 YTD Low as Weak Rupee, China Downturn Erode Sentiment
Spot CFR India phenol prices hovered near their lowest so far this year, as a weaker rupee and the likely launch of antidumping investigations on imports outweighed talk of capacity rationalization in the region. The recent downturn in China — Asia’s largest market — has added further pressure, although some market participants remain hopeful that decreased supply could provide support in the coming weeks. Read More
China Phenol Falls to New 2025 YTD Low as Price Competition Picks up Pace
Spot phenol prices in eastern China fell last week to their lowest so far this year, and some market participants expect further declines as newly expanded northern production capacity triggered a price war that now threatens to spill into the eastern market. The correction in China is also weighing on sentiment in India, where buyers are turning cautious amid worries of continued regional weakness. Read More
South Korea’s Lotte–Hyundai Cracker Merger Move Signals Deeper Petchems Shakeout
South Korea is witnessing its first major petrochemical consolidation in years as Lotte Chemical Corp. and HD Hyundai Chemical Co. move to merge overlapping naphtha-cracking assets at the Daesan complex, a step that could reshape regional aromatics flows and offer a modest tailwind to benzene and styrene monomer or SM markets. Read More
China’s October Aromatics Imports See Mixed Results Amid Shifting Fundamentals
China's aromatics imports showed a mixed performance in October, driven by improved downstream demand in certain sectors on the one hand and rising domestic supply that has curtailed imports in others on the other, according to industry sources. Read More
Asia’s Benzene Faces Deep Losses as Margins Hit Three-Year Lows
Benzene producers across Asia are enduring the worst stretch of margins in years as a cocktail of oversupply, weak downstream demand and limited arbitrage outlets drives spreads below breakeven levels, forcing producers to confront a market that one participant describes as “relentlessly punishing.” Read More
PetroChina’s New Jilin ABS Plant Set to Pressure Markets
Asia’s acrylonitrile butadiene styrene and styrene monomer markets are poised for a reshape with the startup of a major new production unit by PetroChina Jilin in northeastern China, adding significant supply to already well-stocked chains and heightening expectations of downward pressure on spot prices, according to industry sources. Read More
India Phenol Retreats From 12-Week High; Market in State of Flux
Spot phenol prices in India declined last week from a 12-week high, as importers took profit following the recent price run-up. At the same time, some market participants described market conditions as being in a state of flux, with companies pursuing expansion and new partnerships in the wake of the second wave of U.S. sanctions related to alleged violations of Iran sanctions. Read More
India Phenol Edges Up After Pre-Diwali Jump; Market Braces for Sanctions
Spot phenol prices in India inched higher after the market reopened this week following the Diwali holidays. At the same time, several market participants said they are navigating a trading landscape shaped by expanded U.S. sanctions and are bracing for additional measures. Read More
China’s Aromatics Imports Down in September Amid Weakening Demand
China’s aromatics imports plunged in September amid weaker domestic consumption and increased local production, dampening buyer interest for overseas shipments, industry sources said on Tuesday. Read More
China Phenol Price Unchanged at Five-Month Low; Import Volumes Set to Rise
China's domestic phenol prices held steady this week at their lowest in five and a half months, data from Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS shows, with the resumption of imports from Saudi Arabia set to boost overall supply. Read More
India’s Local Phenol Prices Hit Nine-Week High Amid Expanding US Sanctions
Domestic spot phenol prices in India climbed to a nine-week high following the expansion of U.S. sanctions targeting India-based entities allegedly engaged in the purchase and sale of Iran-origin petroleum and petrochemical products, market participants said on Tuesday. Read More
Broadening US Sanctions Could Impact CFR India Phenol Trade
Broader U.S. sanctions targeting India-based entities allegedly engaged in the purchase and sale of Iranian-origin petroleum and petrochemical products are expected to negatively impact spot phenol trades into India, market sources said on Friday. Read More
Asia’s Toluene Prices Sink to 3-Month Low on Weak Demand, Supply Glut
Asian toluene prices have fallen to their lowest levels in nearly three months, weighed down by weak demand, poor downstream product spreads and burgeoning supply, market participants said. Read More
Benzene Falls to Five-Month Low in Asia as Q4 Supply Builds
Benzene spot prices in Asia tumbled below the $700 per metric ton FOB Korea mark for the first time in nearly five months on Sept. 30, closing at levels last seen on May 9, when the OPIS midpoint touched $682.50/mt FOB Korea. The decline reflects deepening fragility in the region’s aromatics market, pressured by a mounting supply overhang and seasonally slower consumption patterns going into the fourth quarter, according to market sources. Read More
China Targets 5% Growth in Petchem Restructuring Drive
China aims to achieve more than 5% growth in the added value of petrochemical output in 2025–2026, as part of broader efforts to restructure the industry amid mounting pressure from oversupply, according to a plan released on Friday. Read More
Sinopec Expands Xinjiang Refining Complex Into High-Value Petrochemicals
Sinopec has started a major upgrade of its Tahe refining and petrochemical complex in Xinjiang, aiming to boost capacity and diversify into higher-margin products such as ethylene and paraxylene, amid a broader shift in China’s industrial strategy, according to a news release on Saturday. Read More
OPIS Forum: China’s Petchems See Steady Demand Amid Margin Pressure
China’s petrochemical industry continues to face steady demand as well as significant challenges, with profits expected to remain under pressure, said Yixin Xu, associate researcher with Sinopec Economics & Development Research Institute at the OPIS Energy and Chemicals Forum on Wednesday. Read More
OPIS Forum: China’s Primary Energy Consumption Forecast to Grow at Slower Rate
China’s primary energy consumption is expected to maintain its growth momentum till around 2040, albeit at a decelerating pace, according to Sinopec Economics and Development Research Institute at the OPIS Energy and Chemicals Forum in Singapore on Wednesday. Read More
Petrochemical Giants’ Overhaul To Impact Benzene Market Conditions
Sweeping reforms in Asia’s two petrochemical powerhouses, South Korea and China, are set to reshape the global benzene market. After years of overcapacity and weak margins, both countries are cutting outdated facilities and pivoting to higher-value operations -- moves that are expected to tighten benzene supply and influence global pricing, sources say. Read More
South Korea’s Aromatics Exports Up in July on Sustained Demand
South Korea's aromatics exports remained strong in July, supported by robust demand from major export destinations, including China, India and the U.S. Continued restocking activity by international buyers, alongside healthy downstream consumption, played a key role in increasing export volumes across key products such as mixed xylenes or MX, toluene and benzene. Read More
Asia’s Benzene Holds Steady on Balanced Fundamentals, but Q4 Outlook Still Murky
Asia’s benzene market is showing signs of stability for September as scheduled maintenance offsets tepid demand, keeping supply-demand fundamentals largely balanced. However, amid macroeconomic uncertainties, global trade headwinds and fresh capacity, market participants remain cautious heading into the final quarter of the year. Read More
Robust Demand Lifts Asia’s Toluene Prices to One-Month High
Asia's toluene prices have climbed to a one-month high, settling at $683 per metric ton FOB Korea on Monday, a 2.2% increase, according to OPIS data. This marks the highest price point since June 24, driven by robust buying activity for September cargoes. Read More
China’s June Aromatics Imports Fall on Plant Restarts, Weak Demand
China’s aromatics imports significantly declined across the board in June, with reductions ranging from 0.9% to a sharp 30.8%, according to the latest customs data. This was mainly due to subdued domestic demand and a robust increase in domestic supply following the restart of several plants after their annual maintenance turnarounds, industry sources said. Read More
No Sign of Recovery for Europe Chemical Industry Amid High Energy Prices, Tax
The overall message from the recent European Petrochemical Luncheon in Munich, Germany, in mid-June suggests that demand for most sectors of the petrochemical industry remains soft and there is no real sign of any recovery until 2026. Read More
Sinopec Cuts Benzene Price Again as Market Slides on Crude Retreat
China’s state-owned Sinopec reduced its benzene list price for the second time this week, cutting it by 100 yuan per metric ton ($14/mt) on Thursday to 6,100 yuan/mt ex-warehouse, industry sources said Friday. On an import parity basis, the adjusted list price equates to around $747/mt CFR China. Read More
South Korea’s Aromatics Exports Down in May On Global Trade Uncertainty
South Korea’s aromatics exports declined in May as weak demand and ongoing trade uncertainties continued to weigh on market sentiment. Buyers are scaling back purchases amid volatile commodity prices and ongoing global trade tensions, an industry source said on Friday. Read More
Asia’s Benzene Margins Narrow as Trade Routes Shift, Demand Falters
Asian benzene producers are grappling with shrinking margins as the benzene-to-naphtha spread sank to $130 per metric ton on June 20, well below the breakeven threshold of $150/mt, according to OPIS data. The last time the spread was this low was in early May, and producers have struggled to remain profitable amid persistent global oversupply and weak downstream demand. Read More