Asian Benzene: Prices drop amid rollover in backwardated market / FOB Korea November/December backwardation narrows / Sinopec lowers East China benzene listed price

Oct 17, 2026

Asian benzene $24.33/mt lower on the session at $1,219.67/mt FOB Korea on Oct. 16, amid a rollover in a backwardated market. Upstream, the front-month ICE Brent futures rose $1.26/barrel on the trading session to $105.05/b, while the naphtha C+F Japan marker lost $12/mt over the session to $976/ mt on Oct. 16. During the Market on Close assessment process, two trades were reported. BP sold a December loading FOB Korea cargo to GS Caltex at $1,211/mt. BP sold a December loading FOB Korea cargo to TotalEnergies at $1,210/mt. In the FOB Korea market, the backwardation structure between the November and December laycans narrowed to $26/ mt from the intraday level at $36/mt. In CFR South China floating price discussions, an offer for December arrival cargo was heard at a premium...

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