Northeast Asia-Europe PX arbitrage closes on surging Asian prices

14 March 2011 09:13  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (ICIS)--The northeast Asia-Europe arbitrage for paraxylene (PX) closed on Monday after Asian prices surged in the wake of the devastating 9.0-magnitude earthquake that struck Japan on 11 March.

Spot Asian PX prices were hovering at around $1,740/tonne (€1,253/tonne) CFR (cost & freight) Taiwan and/or China Main Port (CMP) at the time of writing.

Meanwhile, freight costs for 10,000 tonnes of PX to be moved from northeast Asia to Europe were hovering at the mid-$80s/tonne, ICIS data showed.

The last assessed price for PX in Europe was at $1,710–1,750/tonne FOB (free on board) Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA), according to data from ICIS.

“Asia is going to be short [on supply] itself, as JX Nippon Oil has already shut both its PX units at Kawasaki and Kashima,” said a regional trader who was still moving some volumes to Europe.

“The focus is going to fall back onto the eastern markets,” he added.

JX Nippon Oil & Energy has a combined PX production capacity of 950,000 tonnes/year at its Kawasaki and Kashima plants.

($1 = €0.72)

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By: Bohan Loh
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