HOUSTON: US benzene imports for June rose by 12% and exports increased more than five-fold from the same month last year, according to data made available this week by the US International Trade Commission (ITC).
The increase of imports was largely the result of almost three times as much volume received from South Korea and significant increases in volumes from Belgium, Brazil, Columbia and Chad. The increased volumes offset declines in cargoes from Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Canada and countries not listed on the report.
Month-on-month, US benzene imports were down by 6.5% from May, although volumes rose slightly from South Korea, the top importer into the US by volume. Volumes from Belgium, Chad and India increased significantly in June over May.
However, global benzene offtake had increased in June, compared with May, due to the resolution of outages in downstream industries during June. The tighter global market led to the US receiving significantly less volumes from Venezuela, Brazil and countries not listed in the report.
Year-to-date, US benzene imports for the first half of 2015 are about 4.6% less than the first half of last year due in large part to frequently closed arbitrage from Asia early in the year.
