After reaching a low of *** U.S. dollars per metric ton in 2020, the global price of benzene increased rapidly over the following two years, before again declining to an average of *** U.S. dollars per metric ton in 2022. Uses of benzene Benzene is one of the most common products in the petrochemical industry, accounting for roughly ** percent of primary petrochemical consumption worldwide. The compound is the simplest aromatic hydrocarbon and it is used widely for the manufacture of organic chemicals with more complex structures. For instance, most of the benzene produced is transformed to ethylbenzene, which is then converted to styrene, and finally, polystyrene. Other important applications include the production of phenol and acetone. Global benzene market The global market volume of benzene amounted to nearly ***** million metric tons in 2022 and it is expected to reach over ** million metric tons by 2023. Regarding the market value of the petrochemical compound, it stood at over ***** billion U.S. dollars in 2022 and is forecast to rise considerably to some ****** billion U.S. dollars. In 2021, South Korea, India, and Thailand were the largest exporters of benzene worldwide.

In August 2022, the styrene price per ton amounted to $1.5 per kg, which is down by -21.8% against the previous month.

The average price of ethylene worldwide amounted to some *** U.S. dollars per metric ton in 2023. The global production capacity of ethylene reached approximately ****** million tons in 2022. Petrochemical products Ethylene is the most commonly used petrochemical globally. A major part of its production is used to produce polyethylene, a common plastic material that accounts for roughly ** percent of global thermoplastic production. Other ethylene-derived products include ethylene glycol, ethylene dichloride, and styrene. Apart from ethylene, other widely produced petrochemicals are propylene, methanol, and paraxylene. Together they account for over ** percent of the global upstream petrochemical capacity. Petrochemical prices Petrochemical prices are highly dependent on the price of oil and related products. Feedstock costs represent the largest share of petrochemical production costs, ahead of fixed costs, power, and transportation. As with oil prices, the price of petrochemical products fell sharply during 2020, following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. That year, petrochemicals such as ethylene, propylene, or benzene registered the lowest price in recent years, although they picked up shortly after.