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10th January 2014

Phenol (Europe)

Editor Icis Editorial Europe, editorial.europe@icis.com

CONTRACT PRICES
Click for Price History Price Range US CTS/LB
FD NWE JAN EUR/TONNE +27.00 1548.00-1588.00 +27.00 96.01-98.49

SPOT PRICES
Click for Price History Price Range Four weeks ago US CTS/LB
FOB RDAM T2 EXP USD/TONNE n/c 1270-1280 n/c 1270-1280 57.61-58.06
FD NWE EUR/TONNE n/c 1174-1224 n/c 1137-1187 72.81-75.91
EX-WORKS RUSSIA Rb/TONNE n/c 65000-68000 n/c 65000-69000

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NOTE: for full details on the criteria ICIS pricing uses in making these price assessments visit www.icispricing.com and
click on “methodology”.

Phenol supply tight due to shipping disruption

European phenol supply is said to be extremely tight thanks to

storms in Western Europe stopping normal shipping patterns.
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The logistics problems are particularly impacting Southern
Europe, including CEPSA, the second-biggest acetone and
phenol producer in Europe. CEPSA produces acetone and
phenol in Huelva in Southern Spain and then ships it to
Antwerp for distribution across Europe.
Storms across Western Europe, but particularly in the Bay of
Biscay, are forcing ships to take shelter. This is reducing the
flow of product, and leading to some delivery disruptions.
The company has taken measures to mitigate impact on
customers. These include postponing some deliveries to a
later date.
Other producers are said to be impacted, albeit to a lesser
extent.
Export
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The issues are expected to be resolved by the end of next

week, or by the beginning of the week starting on 20 January,
depending on the weather.
The outlook for the phenol market remains uncertain, with
demand expected to remain muted in Q1 and operating rates
limited.
Spot
Spot activity remains non-existent since buyers are struggling
to take contract volumes. The spot range is notionally €180-
230/tonne above the January benzene contract price.
In the absence of trades the export price has remained
unchanged.
Russia
Russia’s phenol spot rouble (Rb) prices were steady this week
with a background of slow post-holiday sales. One local phenol
producer, Samaraorgsintez, was heard planning to keep
selling phenol at Rb67,260/tonne later this month. Meanwhile,
resellers of phenol produced by Kazanorgsintez and
Ufaorgsintez were understood mulling discounted sales in
coming weeks. Russian domestic numbers include 18% VAT.

Asia

Spot phenol prices into China were assessed as lower for the
week ended 10 January, in line with the further decline in the
yuan-denominated domestic prices and in the absence of fresh
spot trade. Prices were assessed as higher in the preceding
week to reflect a spot deal.

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 Phenol (Europe)

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The market situation remains largely unchanged, with tight
spot supply continuing to be offset by the equally slow demand
from the key downstream bisphenol-A (BPA) and phenolic
resins sectors.
Downstream
European Bisphenol A (BPA) contract prices moved up
€40/tonne in January, reflecting recent increases in Asian BPA
prices and the value of feedstock phenol. The small uptick in
Asian BPA prices from mid-December eased some of the
pressure on European producers and allowed the upstream
increases in the January benzene and phenol to be passed on.
although technical issues at Gonfreville, France, are said to
persist. Meanwhile, an on purpose propylene producing unit is
heading into a seven-week maintenance turnaround.
Crude oil futures turned volatile with a number of factors
supporting and pressuring the market. The polar vortex over
the US, along with ongoing production outages in Libya and
pipeline disruptions in Iraq provided much of the support. But
tepid economic data from China, and the gradual improvement
in labour markets in the US and the UK could pressure the US
Federal Reserve and Bank of England to raise interest rates.
This week’s US stock figures from the Energy Information
Administration (EIA) showed massive builds on both distillates
and gasoline, overriding a larger draw on crude than forecast.

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Feedstocks
Crude oil 10 Jan* 03 Jan 27 Dec 20 Dec
European benzene pricing remained firm throughout the week,
supported by strong US numbers, healthy downstream
ICE Brent 107.05 106.89 112.18 111.77
restocking and some ongoing production problems across the
ARA region. Spot prices were at $1,380-1,400/tonne CIF ARA
WTI 92.90 93.96 100.32 99.32
on Friday afternoon, up $25-35/tonne from last week’s close.
The European propylene market is tight, which has lifted
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polymer grade propylene (PGP) spot prices to the contract
value for the first time since September 2013. Supply has
Front month - $/bbl
tightened on a combination of better-than-expected contractual *Afternoon trading
demand and production issues mostly emanating from Total
Petrochemical’s strike-related refinery outages in December, Covering Editor: Rhian O'Connor

FEEDSTOCK PRICES (CONTRACT)

BENZENE
Click for Price History Price USD/GAL
FOB NWE JAN EUR/TONNE +37.00 994.00-994.00 +37.00 4.52-4.52

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 Phenol (Europe)

Page 3 of 3

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Copyright 2014 Reed Business Information Limited. ICIS pricing is a member of the Reed Elsevier plc group.