China's PTA futures soar 3.75% on tight PX supply concerns

17 August 2011 09:06  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Purified terephthalic acid (PTA) futures on China’s Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange (ZCE) soared by 3.75% on Wednesday as the potential tight paraxylene (PX) supply caused active buying.

The most actively traded January contract stood above the psychological line of yuan (CNY) 10,000/tonne ($1,567/tonne) and closed at CNY10,024/tonne, 3.75% or CNY362/tonne higher than Tuesday’s settlement of CNY9,662/tonne, according to ZCE.

The possible tight feedstock PX supply, which is caused by the shutdown of China’s Fujia Dahua’s 700,000 tonne/year PX plant, bolstered the PTA market’s sentiment, market sources said.

“PX supply will be definitely tight in the next few months after Fujia’s shutdown. So PTA prices will have to [rise],” a trader said.

Most traders in the spot market withdrew their offers to wait for higher numbers after seeing PTA futures rise above CNY10,000/tonne in the afternoon, sources said.

China’s Dalian government said it has started discussions on the shutdown process at Fujia’s PX plant. The unit’s protective dike was breached by rain and high waves caused by Typhoon Muifa last week.

($1 = CNY6.38)

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By: Judith Wang
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