BP declares force majeure to PX suppliers
01 February 2008 17:06 [Source: ICIS news]
LONDON (ICIS news)--BP has declared force majeure to its paraxylene suppliers after strike action halted downstream production, a company source said on Friday.
"We have declared force majeure on paraxylene to our suppliers because of existing feedstock supplies," the source explained.
Earlier in the day, the company announced it had suspended production of purified terepthalic acid (PTA) at its Geel, Belgium, production facility after strike action made it impossible to restart the two PTA plants which had been shut down for maintenance.
There were expectations in the market that this should lend downward pressure to spot values.
"There should be downward pressure on PX," said one trader on Friday. "We saw a deal earlier in the week at $1,072/tonne [€718/tonne] and I think that we will see sub-$1,070/tonne numbers soon."
Market participants said no new business had been seen on Friday, and gave the buy/sell spread at $1,040-1,070/tonne FOB Rotterdam at 16:20 GMT.
Negotiations for February PX contracts were still underway, and sources were unsure how the force majeure would affect settlements, expected early next week.
January contracts were settled at €793/tonne FD NWE, up €21/tonne.
($1 = €0.67)
By: Peter Salisbury
+44 20 8652 3214
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