Price trends

摘要

Crude oil price inched upward during the last week of 2020. Brent closed Thursday at $51.80/bbl for a weekly average of $51.38, up 0.4%. WTI closed at $48.52/bbl for a weekly average of $41.14, up 0.2%. The US toluene market was quiet; spot prices followed energy, and the arbitrage from Europe and Asia remained open. The European toluene market was also quiet; supply from refneries remained poor, while reformers continued to operate near minimal rates. In Asia, notional prices fuctuated in line with mixed xylenes and benzene; in China, surpluses in the south discouraged imports.