Europe January OX contract fully confirmed up by €40/tonne

16 January 2012 12:51  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS)--The European January orthoxylene (OX) contract has settled at €960/tonne ($1,215/tonne) – a rise of €40/tonne from the previous month, two producers and two consumers confirmed on Monday.

The settlement was agreed on a free delivered (FD) northwest Europe (NWE) basis.

Buyers and sellers said the increase is being attributed to the euro-dollar exchange rate, as well as pricing trends in the US and Asia and current market conditions.

“The price went up based on the euro exchange rate and energy costs,” a producer said.

A buyer said that in addition to the above reasons, prices had increased because producers want to reclaim some margin. The buyer also said: “January demand has been fine, not a very good month, but better than December.”

A lack of transparency prevails in the OX spot market. However, prices are firming on export demand, with traders notionally assessing values at $1,330–1,400/tonne FOB (free on board) Rotterdam.

Despite weak domestic consumption because of poor macroeconomic conditions, derivative phthalic anhydride (PA) demand is also firmer than in December because of restocking. Additionally, exporters say overseas buying interest for European material is growing, and exports to the Middle East, Asia and Africa have increased sharply in January.

The European January paraxylene (PX) contract was fully confirmed last week at €1,130/tonne FD NWE, an €80/tonne increase from the December contract price.

OX is largely used in the production of PA, and is generally extracted by distillation from a mixed xylenes (MX) stream in a plant primarily designed for PX production.

($1 = €0.79)

For more on OX visit ICIS Chemical Intelligence
Please visit the complete ICIS plants and projects database

By: Helena Strathearn
+44 208 652 3214

For the latest chemical news, data and analysis that directly impacts your business sign up for a free trial to ICIS news - the breaking online news service for the global chemical industry.

Get the facts and analysis behind the headlines from our market leading weekly magazine: sign up to a free trial to ICIS Chemical Business.

Printer Friendly