Asian paraxylene buyers placed their counterbids for September at $1,200-1,250/mt CFR, more than $100/mt lower than nominations for the Asian contract price, a source close to the negotiations said Thursday.
There are four PX ACP sellers in Asia: ExxonMobil, Japan’s Idemitsu Kosan and JX Nippon Oil and Energy, and South Korea’s S-Oil.
Last week, JX nominated its September PX ACP at $1,390/mt CFR, ExxonMobil at $1,380/mt CFR, S-Oil at $1,390/mt CFR, and Idemitsu at $1,390/mt CFR.
There are six ACP buyers: BP, Taiwan’s Capco and Oriental Petrochemical (Taiwan) Corp., Japan’s Mitsui Chemicals and Mitsubishi Chemical, and China’s Yisheng Petrochemical.
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All of the buyers are purified terephthalic acid producers.
The source said negotiations for the September PX ACP would be tough as ACP sellers would be reluctant to reduce their nomination values, whereas ACP buyers would be hesitant to take the offer level in current weakening market.
He said ACP sellers would not reduce their nomination to less than $1,300/mt CFR, because it is the “symbolic” bottom line for them, but PX spot prices are already lower than the offer level.
The October PX spot market is expected ease slightly from September, due to new PX supplies as well as an increase of operation rates of existing PX makers.
India’s state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp. will start first shipments of PX and benzene from its new Mangalore plant in end-August at the earliest.
In Singapore, Jurong Aromatics’ 800,000 mt/year plant will likely start in mid-September, according to market sources.
Japan’s JX Nippon Oil and Energy plans to run its PX plants at an average rate of 75% of capacity over October-December, up from 60% in the third quarter, a source close to the company said Tuesday.
The September ACP nomination values are due to expire Friday.
– Platts.com
