The Petersburg Exchange expanded its line of petrochemical trading instruments to 325 positions; systemic development of petrochemical trading and price indicators was discussed at the Exchange Committee on Chemical and Petrochemical Products of the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) of Russia, which took place on August 26 within the Tatarstan Petrochemical Forum.
The successful launch of petrochemical trading was supported by joint work of FAS Russia, manufacturers and buyers, and by regulatory prerequisites, including a joint order by FAS Russia and the Ministry of Energy, which approved normative volumes of exchange sales for specific petrochemical categories: ortho-xylene, toluene, styrene, and technical phenol.
Natalia Yakovenko, Senior Managing Director for the Fuel & Logistics Markets at the Petersburg Exchange, noted that in 2025 the exchange traded 180 active petrochemical instruments, including 38 new products; in 2026 the count rose to 325, with new items including polymer grades, ethylene glycol, and hydrochloric acid. The exchange offers a broad range of products — polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, rubbers, as well as methanol, MTBE, acetone, sulfuric and hydrochloric acids, technical sulfur, LPG, and technical alcohols.
Access to trading of new instruments and delivery bases is granted on request by market participants — both suppliers and buyers. The exchange infrastructure supports listing of any commodities, with multiple units of measure (decaliters, cubic meters, and kilograms). An over‑the‑counter trading format in SET VR is also available. The exchange is prepared to consider any market requests, and views expansion of trading opportunities positively.
Expert commentary on market indicators was provided by Anna Morina, Deputy Managing Director — Head of Market Analysis, who presented industry analytics and indicators from the National Exchange Price Agency. Analytical reviews on polymers and basic chemicals are based on both on‑ and off‑exchange data and are published weekly and monthly.
Regarding specific petrochemical products, Anna Morina noted that tolue sales on the platform in H1 2026 reached 68% of total domestic shipments, up from 48% in 2025, underscoring that Petersburg Exchange is a primary spot selling venue with well‑known delivery bases.
Additionally, in December 2025 the Exchange began calculating and publishing national price indicators for polymers such as styrene, phenol, ortho‑xylene, and toluene, and in August 2026 launched a regional price indicator for styrene in the European part of Russia. Work is also underway to launch survey indicators for polyethylene and polypropylene in September.
To ensure openness and expert discussion, an Expert Council on petrochemical indices is planned for September 2026, to provide recommendations and proposals on updating calculations and developing new indicators for petrochemical products.