US PX April contract may settle at 78.50 cents/lb on lower ACP

16 April 2012 18:28  [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS)--The US paraxylene (PX) April contract may settle at 78.50 cents/lb ($1,731/tonne, €1,316/tonne), following a lower April PX Asian contract price (ACP), a major US PX producer said on Monday.

The settlement would represent a 3.5 cents/lb drop from the March price of 82 cents/lb.

In Asia, the April PX contract settled at $1,585/tonne, down by $65/tonne from March.

The US PX contract price is usually settled in the first half of the month to which it applies, with the ACP providing a guide to price direction

PX is used primarily to make purified terephthalic acid (PTA), an intermediate chemical for polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which is commonly used for plastic bottles.

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

 ($1 = €0.76)

By: Blanca Venegas
713-525-2653

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