Apr PX, benzene trades on Singapore Exchange slide on month, surge over Jan-Apr

Singapore — Paraxylene derivative volumes cleared on the Singapore Exchange tumbled 53% month on month to 416,300 mt in April from a 19-month high of 884,500 mt in March, SGX data showed Tuesday.

Benzene derivatives cleared on the exchange fell 40% on month to 213,500 mt in April, but were up 36% year on year, the data showed.

Derivative traded volumes for both PX and benzene over January-April surged from the same period a year earlier due to heightened volatility in oil and petrochemical markets driven by demand disruption caused by COVID-19 lockdowns across multiple countries.

The traded volume for PX rose 62% year on year to more than 2 million mt over January-April, and for benzene surged 108% to 807,000 mt, SGX data showed.