亚洲苯受原油价格提振 美国套利窗口仍关闭

据ICIS网站9月17日消息 亚洲苯市场受到坚挺原油期货的提振，此前美国海上生产因飓风萨莉而停产。

现货苯价格上涨至415美元/吨以上（韩国离岸价格），此前受到了来自活跃原油的冲击，从本周上半周约406.5美元/吨上涨。

布伦特原油期货价格在最近跌破40美元/桶后突破42美元/桶，美国原油库存下跌。

不过，苯价格的上涨似乎仍受到亚洲供应充足的影响。

泰国一家供应商表示：“市场稍显坚挺，对原油的影响还不是很大。”

苯被用来生产一些中间体，这些中间体被用来制造聚合物、溶剂和洗涤剂。

在8月下旬和9月上旬的一些交易解禁后，近几周，亚美现货套利窗口仍处于关闭状态。

新加坡一位经纪商表示：“尽管美国股市走高，但套利交易仍在关闭。”

与此同时，根据ICIS 9月11日的数据，中国进口需求依然疲弱，海岸罐库存保持在27万吨左右。

大多数用户继续依赖国内货物来满足生产要求。

“几个月来，有关进口材料的讨论一直很冷淡，”一位在中国的经纪人表示。

该地区的充足供应继续限制了区域苯市场的涨幅，迄今为止，原油价格飙升的影响有限。

不过，一些与会者表示，飓风萨莉过后，美国炼油厂长期停产，可能推高原油价格，这可能对亚洲苯市场造成压力。

王磊 摘译自 ICIS

原文如下：

Asia benzene buoyed by firm crude; arbitrage window to US still shut

Asia’s benzene market was bolstered by firm crude oil futures, following US offshore production shutdowns from Hurricane Sally.

Spot benzene prices rose above $415/tonne FOB (free on board) Korea, after receiving a shot in the arm from buoyant crude, from around $406.5/tonne FOB Korea in the first half of the week.

Brent crude futures topped $42/bbl, after slipping under $40/bbl recently, as US crude stocks declined.

The uptick in benzene prices, however, appeared to be still tempered by ample availability in Asia.

“The market is slightly firmer, the crude oil impact is not very significant yet,” said a supplier in Thailand.

Benzene is used to produce a number of intermediates that are used to create polymers, solvents and detergents.

The Asia-US spot arbitrage window remained closed in recent weeks, after some second-half August and first-half September lots were lifted.

“The arbitrage is still closed despite US market moving higher,” said a broker in Singapore.

Meanwhile, Chinese import demand remained weak with shore tank inventories staying elevated at around 270,000 tonnes, according to ICIS data on 11 September.

Most users continued to rely on domestic cargoes to meet production requirements.

“Discussions for import material have been thin for months,” said a broker in China.

The ample availability in the region continued to cap gains in regional benzene market, with impact of crude spike having only a limited effect so far.

A protracted shutdown of US refineries in the aftermath of Hurricane Sally, however, could push crude prices higher, which could exert pressure on the Asian benzene market, some participants said.