Paraxylene market rebounded this week! Here’s why

Shanghai, China: The Paraxylene market strengthened this week, supported by the stronger performance of feedstock Crude oil. Crude oil is in turmoil around the world as the EU plans to cut off Russian imports by the end of this year. Tight supply and firm buying interest in paraxylene coupled with an ambiguous market of Naphtha have culminated in the soaring price of paraxylene.

As the global supply-demand chain is easing, "The demand for Paraxylene from downstream Purified Terephthalic Acid, the main feedstock for Polyethylene Terephthalate bottle have increased worldwide along with the seasonal variations in Asia-pacific region."

Paraxylene is manufactured using Naphtha by mixing Benzene, Toluene, and Xylene. The market of its derivative is disturbed along with the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. As per the source, there is an increasing demand for mixed Xylene and Toluene in the United States, used as a raw material for Paraxylene production. Therefore, firm demand from the petrochemical industry amid soaring prices for its lineages has impacted the paraxylene market this week.

While interviewing the source from Yangpu Economic Development Zone in the northwest of the province, he said, "Sinopec Hainan Petrochemical plans to restart its 600000 MT/year plant by the end of May 2022, after its shutdown since mid-March for planned maintenance. As such, there is no confirmation from the company," he quoted.

As a result, the ongoing increase in demand and the gap between demand-supply is allocated to overcome, as production is regaining its pave after some relaxation in China. Furthermore, China's yuan depreciation against the dollar rate has increased the price of materials in the domestic market.

ChemAnalyst predicted that "Crude Oil turmoil might govern the market for paraxylene, downstream inquiries are also anticipated to improve along with the healthy market activity. Estimations based on plant operation show that China and Asian paraxylene operating rates are expected to rise gradually from mid-May."