Spread between US spot mixed xylene prices, blend values narrows

US spot mixed xylene prices continued to slide Thursday, with March barrels shedding 7 cents ($21.50) to be assessed at 217 cents/gal ($661/mt) FOB USG, as the spot price and blend value converged.

Blend values have been on the rise since the beginning of the month and the mixed xylene blend value has risen nearly 17 cents since March 1, and was estimated at 217.20 cents/gal Thursday.

However, with buy interest well below blend values, producers were incentivized to leave MX in the gasoline pool rather than extract it, sources said.

Sources continued to characterize the US mixed xylenes market as long, with a couple producers returning following maintenance as well as increased imports in recent weeks.

This was putting some pressure on prices, however, sources said there was not much room for MX prices to move lower as reformate would serve as the price floor. Reformate was last assessed at 201.62 cents/gal, according to S&P Global Platts data.

Meanwhile, US spot toluene values were relatively stable Thursday in a thin market. Spot toluene values continued to hold a premium to blend values Thursday, with the assessed price at a 11 cents/gal premium to the blend value.