Houston (Platts)--10Nov2010/650 pm EST/2350 GMT

      
November US benzene prices are likely to fall, a number of sources said
Wednesday.

     "I would have thought they shouldn't have gone up--we have all the
imports [coming to the US], plus ethylene [being] higher on the [US Gulf
Coast] means [its] harder for December styrene exports," one trader said.

     Another bearish factor likely to undermine the November price is premium
freight rates. To ship from the US Gulf o Korea or Taiwan, rates were at
$80-85/mt, compared with December rates at $60/mt, sources said. The
USG-Rotterdam rate was at $45/mt.

     On October 29, the November benzene contract in the US settled at 342
cents/gal ($1,023/mt) but then fell to 336 cents/gal on November 1 and as low
as 329 cents/gal on November 3. Since then though spot prices have shot up,
reaching 345.50 cents/gal on Monday, as energy prices rose and some players
were left covering shorts.

     Wednesday's range was 339-345 cents/gal for November DDP.

		--Angie Joe, angie_joe@platts.com

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