Asian PTA: Market turns volatile following
PX, amid weak downstream■ Lower supply supports prices■ China’s polyester producers debate run-cutsAsian purified Terephthalic
Acid was volatile over the week. It rose earlier, but then fell $14-20/mt week
to $916-930/mt CFR China China July 1. This tracked upstream paraxylene marker
as well as local prices. China's domestic PTA prices dropped Yuan 77-90/mt on the
week to Yuan 6,536-6,600/mt exp-warehouse. Paraxylene CFR Taiwan/China was higher in the week, before
falling from $29.50-35.25/mt to $1,220-1,250/mt by July 1. A source claimed that PTA demand is suffering from a weak
downstream market. However, it was expected to fall further as many Chinese
polyester producers were looking at reducing operating rates to manage
production margins. Sources said that
while PET chips prices were stable for bottle grades, fiber grades and yarn
prices fell due...