Asian
Paraxylene: Falles $19/mt On Day; PX-naphtha spreads below $300/mt- Market
outlook "cautiously bearish": Source- Increased
gasoline blending demand to lower PX pricesAsian
paraxylene fell $19/mt to $1,004.50/mt CFR Taiwan/China February
17. C&F Japan's naphtha marker fell $7.25/mt to $713.25/mt. This
narrowed PX-naphtha spread from $303/mt Feb. 16 to $291.25/mt. Since
mid-December, the PX-naphtha spread has largely remained above $300/mt. This
indicates confidence in paraxylene demand. According to a market source,
despite China's new capacity, market participants expect support at the $300/mt
level in the near future. According to the source, although the market
appeared "cautiously bullish", a lot of it was dependent on operating
rates from Chinese PTA producer. Another source stated that the China
domestic PTA market had some discount cargoes and the PTA market was looking
long. He said that China demand wasn't...