The European hexane market has experienced fairly balanced supply and demand this week.
It is thought that domestic spot prices are trading at €1,010/tonne FD NWE at the highest so the range is assessed lower at €980-1,010/tonne FD NWE.
Export prices are assessed lower at $1,105-1,125/tonne FOB Rotterdam.
In the UK supply and demand are balanced with prices in the low-to-mid 60s pence/litre FD UK.
Crude oil prices remained volatile during the week. The inability of US law makers to reach a consensus regarding its self-imposed debt ceiling and a rise in US crude stocks mid-week provided downward pressure to WTI values. However, there was some short-lived bullish momentum in the market after US oil-and-gas facilities were affected by tropical storm Don. ICE Brent prices were steady for most of the week, supported by a weaker dollar. However, continued concern over European debt issues capped gains.
On Friday afternoon, September Brent was trading around $116.70/bbl, down from the previous week’s close of $118.67/bbl. September WTI was trading around $95.95/bbl, down from $99.87/bbl.
European naphtha cargo prices were relatively stable for most of the week, before slipping to $982-990/tonne CIF NWE on Friday afternoon. Arbitrages remain closed to the US and Asia, although some material moved west regardless. There was less demand than expected from the gasoline industry, while opinions from the petrochemical sector regarding the level of interest in naphtha were mixed. This week's range of $982-1,006/tonne CIF NWE compares with a range of $974-1,010/tonne the previous week.
($1=€0.70)
This week on ICIS news ( www.icis.com ):
29/07/11 Indian Oil may conduct turnaround at Panipat complex in October
29/07/11 S Korea's SK Innovation pre-tax profit falls 12%, sales up 20%
29/07/11 Japan's Sumitomo Chemical posts fiscal Q1 net loss of Y9.75bn
28/07/11 Asia naphtha prices to fall on Formosa cracker restart delay
27/07/11 US crude futures slide $2.19/bbl on EIA statistics
