Rising prices for toluene and MX on the Northwest European spot market have made the arbitrage to India difficult to execute, sources said on Wednesday.
The European spot price of toluene was assessed at $675/mt FOB ARA on Tuesday, and MX barges were assessed at $679/mt FOB ARA, also stable on the day.
On Wednesday, both products were heard pegged at $690/mt by a trader: "There's not much around, you would need to pay the price if you really need product," the trader said.
A second trader said that due to the rising prices in Northwest Europe, the arbitrage to India was hardly workable anymore: "Toluene and MX are around $750/mt [on a CFR India basis} so you cant really move those products," the second source said.
India's toluene shorts are traditionally filled by South Korean material. On Wednesday morning, the FOB Korea toluene marker was assessed at $752/mt, making the arbitrage to India from Korea closed.
