The European benzene contract price is expected to rise on bullish sentiment in the US, according to sources.

The October benzene contract price was fully settled at $790/mt or Eur671/mt. The November settlement is expected to be higher.

The European benzene settlement is the average of spot trades concluded in the five working days before the settlement date. The November settlement is expected on Tuesday.

Trades have been heard in the range $810-$820/mt in the past few days. In the European morning Friday, bids for November were heard at $810/mt.

Spot prices rose in Europe in the past two weeks, tracking gains in the US. On Monday, the spot price reached $836.50/mt, up from $775.50/mt at the beginning of October.

In the US, spot benzene prices jumped to their highest since March on supply tightness earlier in the month. The spot price was assessed at 313 cents/gal ($936/mt) on October 20. Despite US prices easing, the market remained tight.

European traders looked to work the wide export arbitrage open from Europe to the US. Prompt export demand supported European benzene prices, according to sources.

–Yuriko Kato, yuriko.kato@spglobal.com

–Edited by Jonathan Dart, jonathan.dart@spglobal.com