In the first half of July, paraxylene prices hovered near previous months’ lows in both the USA and Germany, as weak downstream demand and overall sluggish market sentiment against stable or rising feedstock prices weighed heavily. In the USA, falling naphtha prices and lacklustre export interest from Canada and Mexico added further pressure. While production levels remain flat, weak PET and PTA demand limited price support. Similarly in Germany, warmer weather contributed to marginal PET offtake, but weak PTA activity and reduced buying firm limits price action. All in all, with stable paraxylene supply and muted downstream demand, paraxylene prices are likely to remain under pressure for the time being.
During the first half of July, paraxylene prices decreased slightly in both regions, North America and Europe, as downstream demand remained weak and market sentiment remained tempered, despite relatively stable rising feedstock cost and inventory.
In North America, paraxylene prices declined by 0.7% in the first week of July, reversing the prior week's increases. This decrease followed a major drop in feedstock naphtha prices, which fell by 7.6%. This prompted paraxylene producers to ease their offers. Paraxylene production in the Gulf Coast remained steady across key Gulf Coast facilities, with no reported supply disruptions. However, demand for paraxylene from downstream PET manufacturers was subdued, despite the seasonal peak for bottling. Export interest remained weak, particularly from neighbouring markets such as Canada and Mexico, where buyers exhibited limited urgency and continued with need-based purchases. Furthermore, competition from alternative global suppliers put additional pressure on paraxylene U.S. offers. While PTA prices remained largely stable, PET prices edged slightly lower, reflecting soft offtake trends.
The trend continued towards the second week of July and U.S. paraxylene prices dropped another 0.6%, despite rising naphtha costs of 1.0%. Paraxylene producers were forced to lower FOB Texas offers because of weak international buying and slow spot activity. Domestic PET and PTA markets held steady, but some broader market weakness and poor sentiment held back any priced uptick. U.S. producers operated at normal rates, carrying normal inventories and maintaining poor pricing power in the export markets due to various competition and slow buying behaviour.
In Germany, paraxylene prices decreased by 0.6% in the first week of July 2025. Unlike the USA, Germany had stable feedstock naphtha prices but was still slow in sentiment. Sellers lowered paraxylene prices slightly and tried to build more domestic activity, but with no major production shocks in the market. Small increases in demand were reported by PET sellers, mainly due to demand being stimulated by the warm weather which spikes preform demand. PTA consumption also grew slightly and was reported to have raised price directions at the downstream level.
However, despite an increase in upstream naphtha costs of 2.8%, German paraxylene prices fell by a further 0.6% in the second week. The decline was largely due to a subdued PTA marketplace and a cautious attitude from PET buyers who were opting for fixed contracts rather than spot transactions. Paraxylene productions continued without a hitch, and suppliers chose not to push to cost increases downstream with the intention of keep down competitive internal pricing amid lacklustre internal drawdowns.
Looking ahead, ChemAnalyst expects that paraxylene prices in the US and Germany are likely to remain under pressure from weak export demand, passive downstream buying and limited support from PTA. Despite stable production and seasonal PET consumption, subdued spot activity and margin compression from rising naphtha costs could cap any potential paraxylene price recovery.
