Europe August paraxylene confirmed at €1,100/tonne

LONDON (ICIS)–The European August paraxylene (PX) contract price has been agreed at €1,100/tonne ($1,467/tonne), a rollover from the previous month, as the initial settlement received further support from players on Thursday.

One seller confirmed that it has agreed the number with a consumer late last week, but said that the European summer holiday period had slowed the negotiations process down this month, with players in and out of the office.

Despite some upward movement in Asia, with the August contract price settling at $1,440/tonne CFR (cost and freight) Asia, a $30/tonne increase from July, macroeconomic uncertainty and weak derivative offtake kept European consumers wary this month.

Asian spot numbers have edged back up since on firming crude levels, with offers reaching $1,500/tonne CFR (cost and freight) Taiwan. However, buyers kept to the sidelines amid weak downstream purified terephthalic acid (PTA) demand.

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

($1 = €0.75)