US December PX contracts rise 2.50 cents/lb

21 December 2010 19:53  [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS)--US paraxylene (PX) will rise by 2.50 cents/lb ($55/tonne, €42/tonne), averting a split settlement, a source said on Tuesday.

Contracts will settle at a single December benchmark price of 63.00 cents/lb DEL (delivered) US Gulf.

A buyer said that a consensus has been reached on a price for December, but the source could not confirm all markets participants have finalised negotiations. Calls to other contract participants seeking confirmation were not returned.

One producer reached an agreement with customers earlier in the month while other contract players remained unsettled, setting up a possible split contract price. A divide in the US PX contract price last came in October 2009.

PX is primarily used to make polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a feedstock in the production of beverage bottles.

Major US PX producers include BP Chemical, Chevron Phillips Chemical, Flint Hills Resources and ExxonMobil.

($1 = €0.76)

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By: Ruth Liao
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