US OX contract settles at rollover for December

NEW YORK (ICIS)–US orthoxylene (OX) December contracts were settled at a rollover from November following the trend in the US mixed xylenes (MX) contract pricing for December, market sources said on Friday.

December OX stands at 60 cents/lb ($1,323/tonne, €966/tonne) free on board (FOB).

OX comes out of the refining process with MX and is typically affected by its price movement, as well as the movement of toluene and benzene that also come out of the gasoline stream.

Demand is slow but steady, as the major downstream US phthalic anhydride (PA) sector is experiencing seasonally flat demand, market sources said.

US OX spot prices were notionally unchanged at 63-64 cents/lb FOB export, as Asian OX spot price movement was soft in the week.

The US MX contract price for December was settled at a rollover, which prompted the December OX settlement. Earlier expectations were for OX to increase in December.

OX is primarily used to make PA, a key intermediate in the production of plasticizers, which are used to make products such as flexible polyvinyl chloride (PVC).

Major US OX producers include ExxonMobil Chemical and Flint Hills Resources.

($1 = €0.73)