Europe OX sentiment weaker ahead of Feb contract talks
Truong Mellor
27-Jan-2014
LONDON (ICIS)–European orthoxylene (OX) players are braced
for potential downward movement on the monthly contract for
February, sources said on Monday, in line with weaker
domestic fundamentals and some price erosion in Asia.
With the Asian market currently valued around the
$1,350/tonne FOB (free on board) level, this has kept
downward pressure on European spot numbers towards the end of
January in order to keep any export business viable.
One trader also noted that freight prices
out of the ARA region are currently valued as high as
$140/tonne due to limited availability for January and
February. Downstream phthalic anhydride
(PA) demand in Europe remains seasonally lacklustre so
far in 2014, with the market well supplied.
Asian OX prices have seen significant downward movement
in January because of lower feedstock costs and high
inventories in the key Chinese market amid an uncertain
outlook on regional PA demand.
The Europe OX January contract was agreed at €1,005/tonne on free
delivered (FD) northwest Europe (NWE) basis, a
rollover from the previous month.
Global News + ICIS Chemical Business (ICB)
See the full picture, with unlimited access to ICIS chemicals news across all markets and regions, plus ICB, the industry-leading magazine for the chemicals industry.
Contact us
Partnering with ICIS unlocks a vision of a future you can trust and achieve. We leverage our unrivalled network of industry experts to deliver a comprehensive market view based on independent and reliable data, insight and analytics.
Contact us to learn how we can support you as you transact today and plan for tomorrow.