Asian PTA markers were down US$3 a ton CFR China and CFR Southeast Asia in the last week of July. In China, offers fell gradually to below US$610 a ton, and counter offers fell below US$600 a ton, with discussions stalemated.

Yisheng Petrochemical’s offer were at US$610-615 a ton while Hengli Petrochemical issued self-lifting offer were at US$630-640 a ton.

Purified terephthalic acid prices in Asian markets were steady to lower on the week reflecting the lackluster polyester sector and weak demand. In China, the most active September futures on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange Market was traded sharply lower while domestic PTA prices also fell sharply.

Polyester markets were polarized further while cost of raw material retreated. However, with the restart of several PTA units, the PTA futures weakened early that week.

In US, key paraxylene contracts pulled down PTA prices while downstream PET contract also dipped slightly. US PTA price was down US cent 0.44 per pound from June.

Courtesy: Weekly PriceWatch Report