據ICIS網站9月17日消息 亞洲苯市場受到堅挺原油期貨的提振，此前美國海上生產因颶風薩莉而停產。

現貨苯價格上漲至415美元/噸以上（韓國離岸價格），此前受到了來自活躍原油的沖擊，從本周上半周約406.5美元/噸上漲。

布倫特原油期貨價格在最近跌破40美元/桶后突破42美元/桶，美國原油庫存下跌。

不過，苯價格的上漲似乎仍受到亞洲供應充足的影響。

泰國一家供應商表示：“市場稍顯堅挺，對原油的影響還不是很大。”

苯被用來生產一些中間體，這些中間體被用來制造聚合物、溶劑和洗滌劑。

在8月下旬和9月上旬的一些交易解禁后，近幾周，亞美現貨套利窗口仍處于關閉狀態。

新加坡一位經紀商表示：“盡管美國股市走高，但套利交易仍在關閉。”

與此同時，根據ICIS 9月11日的數據，中國進口需求依然疲弱，海岸罐庫存保持在27萬噸左右。

大多數用戶繼續依賴國內貨物來滿足生產要求。

“幾個月來，有關進口材料的討論一直很冷淡，”一位在中國的經紀人表示。

該地區的充足供應繼續限制了區域苯市場的漲幅，迄今為止，原油價格飆升的影響有限。

不過，一些與會者表示，颶風薩莉過后，美國煉油廠長期停產，可能推高原油價格，這可能對亞洲苯市場造成壓力。

王磊 摘譯自 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.