The weak mixed xylene market in the US. along with the excess supply, drop in crude oil price, and slow demand downstream continued in December 2025. The U.S Gulf Coast refineries ran at a high rate of utilization after completing maintenance on the refinery at the start of the month, thus creating additional availability of reformate, and an increase in stocks, mainly seen in Texas, and no disruption of either production or logistics. As a result of the excess stock, buyers were able to take advantage of this ample supply at the same time the price fell approximately 2% at mid-December. Demand remained sluggish across several major segments, including polyester, paints & coatings, and gasolines blending due to seasonal slowdowns. Despite only a small amount of support from the continued steady output of Para-xylene and exports of the material, the market finished December at a definite buyer-friendly level.
Mixed xylene markets across the US continued to trend downward during the month of December 2025. The downward effect on price was compounded by the overabundance of supply, declining crude oil prices and lack of downstream customer activity. Through the first half of December, mixed xylene prices based on FOB assessments out of Texas dropped 2% in the third week of December.
Mixed Xylenes prices in the US were clearly affected primarily by supply-related developments. After completion of most maintenance work during the fall season, Gulf Coast refineries were able to operate at full operational capabilities and were operating at full capacity for much of December. As a result, the constant influx of reformate and pyrolized gasoline allowed for adequate volumes of mixed xylene in the market. Sequencing this with recent downturns in price for crude oil has resulted in a narrowing of the difference between crude oil and reformate pricing which gave manufacturers very little reason to move material away from producing mixed xylene as opposed to using it for either solvents or gasoline blending. Lastly, since the mixed xylene market has not had any significant interruptions to production and there have not been any major supply chain issues, continuing increases in inventory levels at terminals located in Texas have resulted in a growing surplus of mixed xylene. This confirmed a very favourable price environment for mixed xylene buyers.
On the demand side of the mixed xylene market, demand was down across the majority of end-use applications. The production of Paraxylene was restrained as producers adjusted their utilization rates due to lowered demand for PET resin related to seasonal holiday stocking. This reduced the demand for mixed xylene from the polyester chain. The paint and coatings industry is also entering its seasonal lull, mainly in the northern part of the U.S. and is decreasing demand for Solvents. Demand for mixed xylene as an octane blender has decreased largely.
As of mid-December, weekly evaluations showed additional declines of 2% in Texas, which confirmed the imbalance between supply and demand. According to participants in the mixed xylene market, the combination of steady operating rates, few spot inquiries allowed sellers the ability to offer further discounts.
While some minor supporting factors existed such as stable consumption for bottled beverage products supporting the production of paraxylene and ongoing normal export flows, they were not strong enough to change the global prevailing trend.
Overall, mixed xylene finished December in a strong buyer-favoured position. Most participants have kept their purchasing strategy on a hand-to-mouth basis with minimal forward coverage as they await more definitive indicators on the direction of crude prices, gasoline margins, and post-holiday demand recovery. In the short term, it is likely that mixed xylene prices will remain under downward pressure and that percentage-based trends will continue to remain in the negative territory unless we see a significant adjustment in supply-discipline or an increase in downstream demand.
