Data collected by SSESSMENTS.COM showed that benzene’s price has tumbled from above $600/ton-level to the near $400/ton-level over March 2020. The nosedived in Benzene prices occurs due to the sluggish buying sentiment coupled with the sharp declined in downstream SM operating rates and SM prices. Moreover, US crude oil prices posted the largest weekly percentage decline in 29 years due to the price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia.
The price war has resulted in Saudi Arabia, the world’s top crude oil exporter to boost production to 12.3 million barrels/day, an increase of 3.6 million barrels/day in 2020. The Coronavirus pandemic exacerbated the problem causing the global economy to suffer and suppress demand for crude oil which is predicted to drop around 2.8 million barrels/day, the largest single-year drop in nearly 40 years. As such, crude oil prices dropped more than 60% since the beginning of the year, SSESSMENTS.COM noted.
