Europe PX trades at two-year high of $1,290/t

13 May 2008 17:56  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS news)--Spot paraxylene traded at a two-year high in Europe on Tuesday, giving the market strong upwards direction on the back of reputed Asian trades at $1,400/tonne (€910/tonne).

The deal was confirmed at $1,290/tonne FOB (free on board) Rotterdam on Tuesday afternoon, with trade selling to trade.

The previous record had been considerably higher, recorded at $1,590/tonne FOB (free on board) Rotterdam in August 2006, although spot values had subsequently fallen significantly to below $1,200/tonne FOB Rotterdam in 2007.

Few deals had been seen in recent weeks, meaning that market participants had found it hard to assess the market’s value, participants said.

Bids and offers had been talked up to $1,240-1,300/tonne FOB Rotterdam, up $60/tonne on the offer, last Friday on record high crude oil values and the news that a major European plant might not come out of a maintenance turnaround for another month.

The level of Tuesday’s deal, however, was due to $1,400/tonne plus values in Asia widely talked in the market.

“Values went up on Asia, where we hear deals have been done up to $1,405/tonne [FOB Korea],” the buyer said. “It moved up $20-40/tonne earlier today on that. The opportunity was there to sell to Asia at these numbers.”

It had also been hard to find offers, he added, with few traders or producers making material available as a major plant which had been undergoing a month-long maintenance operation was now thought to be due another month’s outage.

($1 = €0.64)

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By: Peter Salisbury
+44 20 8652 3214

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