Asian benzene prices continued to edge up Wednesday to surpass the $1,450/mt psychological barrier on bullish buying sentiments, with morning pegs assessed at $1,462/mt FOB Korea, up $12.50/mt from Tuesday's close.
Buyers were out in the spot market since early Wednesday, seeking cargoes with few sellers in sight.
There was a bid for an H2 January cargo at $1,470/mt FOB Korea but the repeatability of the bid could not be confirmed.
Bids for February cargoes were heard at $1,420-1,425/mt FOB Korea while buyers were willing to pay as high as $1,395/mt FOB Korea for March.
There were also bids for the February/March spread at $20-22/mt and offers for H2 January/February spread at $60-70/mt.
Industry sources said that traders were seeking to cover their short positions, especially for the prompt cargoes. Sellers were reluctant to offer their January cargoes at the moment as most of the term contracts for 2013 were not concluded. Only GS Caltex has confirmed its 2013 contracts, market sources said.
Meanwhile, US spot benzene rose 15 cents/gal ($44.85/mt) to a nearly one-month high, with an assessment at $5.08/gal ($1,518.92/mt) FOB US Gulf Coast Tuesday as short-covering continued in the market, sources said.
