US PX January contract settles up 7 cents/lb

18 January 2011 16:40  [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS)--The US paraxylene (PX) January contract settled up by 7 cents/lb ($154/tonne, €116/tonne) from December because of rising Asia PX prices and tight US supply, sources said on Tuesday.

The January contract price was fully settled at 70 cents/lb DEL (delivered), according to buyers and sellers.

The US PX market typically follows price movements in Asia.

The January PX Asia Contract Price (ACP) finalised at $1,380/tonne CFR Asia, up $105/tonne from December’s contract price.

PX spot prices in Asia bolted up $139/tonne in the past week.

US PX producer ExxonMobil recently announced “unexpected and prolonged operational issues” to its customers and was allocating supply effective 1 January.

ExxonMobil company officials declined to comment on the specifics of the issues and it was unclear when supply would be restored.

No other production issues were detected in the US market.

PX is a feedstock for purified terephthalic acid (PTA), which is then used to make polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

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

 ($1 = 0.75)

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By: Ruth Liao
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