Paraxylene
Updated to Q4 2017
There were mainly only term volumes from the US to Asia, as US supply was tight amid supply disruption from hurricanes. In the meantime, ONGC Mangalore Petrochemical Ltd continued to offer spot tenders. JBF Industry’s downstream 1.25m tonne/year purified terephthalic acid plant in India still has no confirmed startup date.
Demand marginally increased in Q4 as some downstream idled purified terethlatic acid (PTA) plants in China and new PTA plants restarted and started up respectively late in the quarter. As these only happened mostly in November and December, there was minimal impact on the market.
Orthoxylene
Updated to Q4 2017
Supply availability was tight as Asian OX producers had limited or no spot OX volumes for sale because they were running their plants to produce paraxylene (PX) due to better margins. Producers and buyers were also negotiating for contract cargoes instead of spot.
There was hardly any spot import buying interest from buyers based in China. Users had little incentive to look for imports as supply was readily available locally. The Chinese market saw issues of slow downstream phthalic anhydride (PA) demand while other northeast Asian markets reported good demand for OX. Demand in southeast Asia and India remains subdued as buyers were mostly relying on contractual volumes.
China
Paraxylene
Updated to Q4 2016
Asian paraxylene prices were bolstered by bullish uptrends in the crude oil and naphtha markets. ICE Brent crude futures hit their highest level since October 2015. Crude prices rallied after OPEC members reached an agreement to cut production to 32.5m bbl/day from 1 January.
New supplier Reliance Industries was also heard to have concluded some term negotiations, with supply to end-users to start from March next year. Its PX cargoes are expected to head to outlets in China and southeast Asia, with offtake by key purified terephthalic acid (PTA) producers and a state-owned refiner. The November and December PX Asia Contract Prices (ACPs) were concluded at $795/tonne CFR.
Orthoxylene
Updated to Q3 2016
The average spot prices of OX in East China increased from Chinese yuan (CNY)5,800/tonne on July 1 to CNY6,050/tonne on September 30. Meanwhile, domestic producers raised their offers three times from CNY5,650/tonne to CNY6,000/tonne from July to September.
At the beginning of July, the OX market was not stable. The price dropped from CNY5,800/tonne to CNY5,750 and then rose to CNY5,850/tonne on 28 July. From 28 July, domestic producers increased their offers from CNY5,650/tonne to CNY5,750/tonne. However, the OX price was unchanged as a result of weak downstream demand. Both buyers and sellers were still testing the water amid an uncertain outlook. Trade, meanwhile, was limited because of a widening gap between buying and selling indications. The average spot prices of OX in East China remained at CNY5,850/tonne until 21 August.
From 21 August, OX was in short supply because of a shutdown by Jinling Petrochemical Corporation. Meanwhile, phthalic anhydride (PA) factories increased operating rates. Domestic producers raised their offers twice from CNY5,750/tonne to CNY6,000/tonne from August to September. As a result, the OX price rapidly increased from CNY5,850/tonne in late August to CNY6,050/tonne in early September, and was unchanged until the end of the month.
