The market has turned bullish on the paraxylene October contract price ahead of the restart of Artlant’s purified terephthalic acid plant on Thursday, sources said Wednesday.
The PX contract price settled at Eur720/mt ($808/mt) in September, but sources expect an increase in October.
“[I am] expecting it to go up,” a trader in the xylenes market said Wednesday.
Downstream polyethylene terephthalate players also pointed to an increase in October. “There is talk that the PX CP will go up,” a PET source said.
The bullishness has been attributed to the start up of Artlant’s 700,000 mt/year PTA facility on October 1, which would lead to more demand for PX on the contract market.
The PTA plant was shut in mid-April last year due to weak demand and after Artlant’s majority shareholder La Seda de Barcelona filed for bankruptcy.
Artlant’s facility is the largest PTA plant in Europe.
Sources declined to say by how much they expected the price to rise, adding that there will be more visibility after a major petrochemical conference in Europe over the weekend.
PX is the feedstock for PTA, while PTA is needed to produce PET. PET prices are influenced by pricing in the PX market.
