US May benzene contracts settled 6 cents/gal ($18/tonne) lower from April, putting prices at $2.93/gal free on board (FOB) US Gulf, as global supply lengthened, ICIS confirmed on Tuesday. SEE MORE Despite its large reserves, Vietnam has to import a huge volume of coal in the 2016-2020 period, which began in 2017 and will see a sharp increase from 2020 to supply thermal power plants, according to a plan from the Vietnam National Coal and Mineral Industries Corporation (Vinacomin). SEE MORE China’s phenol imports may stay strong on the back of overall snug supply in Asia. SEE MORE China Petroleum and Chemical Corp., or Sinopec, raised its ex-works butadiene offer price in East China to Yuan 10,500/mt, or $1,408/mt on an import parity basis, Friday, up Yuan 400/mt or about 4%, market sources said. SEE MORE Chinese March thermal coal imports were 12.52 million mt, up 32% month on month, 56% from the year-ago month, and the highest monthly total since March 2014, according to customs data released Wednesday. SEE MORE