Sinopec cuts July PTA price by CNY100/tonne

25 July 2007 05:12  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (ICIS news)--Sinopec, the Chinese petrochemical major, has finalised its purified terephthalic acid (PTA) price for July at yuan (CNY) 8,700/tonne ($1,151/tonne) delivered, down CNY100/tonne from the previous month, a company official said on Wednesday.

"Competition had been very stiff and although sales had not been poor, spot prices had actually been weak," said the official.

Spot prices currently hovered around CNY8,450-8,490/tonne ex-warehouse, stable-to-soft from the June’s levels of CNY8,450-8,500/tonne ex-warehouse.

The PTA market was gradually becoming oversupplied, as new capacities mushroomed in China and various parts of Asia.

But downstream polyester producers bought additional PTA for July compared with a month ago, after concluding that prices would likely not fall drastically. They were also eager to replenish inventories after refusing to offtake for June.

($1=CNY7.56)

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Author: Salmon Aidan Lee
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