Platts to implement changes to Asian toluene assessments effective Jan 2, 2025

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, will implement several changes to its Asia toluene coverage, effective Jan. 2, 2025.

These toluene assessment changes include updates to the FOB Korea assessment methodology and discontinuation of the CFR China and FOB Southeast Asia assessments.

The original proposal was published on Aug 5, 2024 (https://www.spglobal.com/commodityinsights/en/our-methodology/subscriber-notes/080524-platts-proposes-changes-to-asian-toluene-assessments-effective-jan-2-2025 ), and was based on the feedback received during an extensive consultation, which Platts initiated on Dec. 22, 2023 here: https://www.spglobal.com/commodityinsights/en/our-methodology/subscriber-notes/122223-platts-seeks-feedback-on-its-asian-toluene-methodology .

FOB Korea benchmark

Following extensive feedback, Platts decided to update the product specifications and cargo sizes, reflected in the FOB Korea assessments, in line with the observed trading practice, and specify their merchantability requirements.

Specification: The assessments will reflect material with a minimum purity of 99.1%. The current methodology refers to ASTM D-841 testing method that specifies only a maximum of 1.2% deviance in the purity levels.

Cargo size: Platts will reflect cargo sizes ranging from 2,000 mt to 3,000 mt. In cases where the bid and offer might cross due to volume differences, the largest volume within the published guidelines will take precedence in the assessment process. Market information with non-standard quantity may be considered for the assessment, subject to normalization to the standard terms.

Merchantability: The assessment will reflect merchantable cargoes, which do not incur additional duties or restrictions when delivered into key consumption markets. For example, Platts understands that a significant quantity of toluene is loaded on a FOB Korea basis and is consistently exported to the US and India.

These changes will affect the price assessments under the following codes: