Aromatics

　 Benzene prices on an FOB Korea basis and paraxylene (PX) prices on a CFR Northeast Asia basis moved in a narrow range. Prices for crude oil and naphtha, that are benchmarks of feedstock costs, softened and the spread between feedstock costs and benzene or PX widened. Since operation rates of refineries in China were expected to decrease and production volumes of aromatic products might be limited. Such views also supported the market.

Olefins

　 Ethylene prices on a CFR Northeast Asia basis decreased further. Supply was still not ample but as demand was extremely low, the supply/demand balance remained slack. Benchmark feedstock naphtha prices were bearish and this was also weighed on ethylene prices. Regarding facilities, Malaysia's Pengerang Refining and Petrochemical (PRefChem) was expected to restart its naphtha cracker with annual ethylene production capacity of 1.30 mil mt in mid-June. This might cause an increase in supply in the Southeast Asia market.

　 In the Asia propylene market, demand was sluggish.

　 In the CFR Northeast Asia market, buying interest for propylene was scarce since prices for derivatives such as polypropylene were bearish.

　 In Southeast Asia, Pengerang Refining and Petrochemical (PRefChem)'s residue fluid catalytic cracker (RFCC) and naphtha cracker were expected to restart in mid-June and the company moved to sell propylene.

　 Butadiene prices on a CFR Northeast Asia basis rose slightly, supported by buying interest for July delivery cargoes. A Chinese trader reportedly resold a Southeast Asian cargo to South Korea. Meanwhile, the crude market and the synthetic rubber futures market were unstable. In addition, supply was not seen to be tight. Under these circumstances, end-users' buying ideas were low in general and the gap between bids and offers was wide.

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