Benzene imports into the EU for August rose 28% year on year to 83,578 mt, putting total imports for the first eight months of 2015 at 553,160 mt, according to the latest Eurostat data released Monday.
At the same time, the EU exported only 3 mt during August, down from 5,496 mt year on year, putting net-imports for August at 83,575 mt, rising 40% on year.
The monthly average benzene price for August was $702.33/mt CIF ARA, Platts data showed.
For October about 10,000-20,000 mt of benzene was fixed to the US Gulf from Europe in October following about 30,000 mt in September, trade sources estimated.
