PA Market Inched Down This Week (Aug 18-24, 2017)

O-xylene market review: The o-xylene market slid this week. Up to August 24, the closing price for o-xylene in EastChina was RMB 6,100/mt, which was down RMB 100/mt or 1.61% from last week. Influenced by the environmental protection supervision, the operating rate of phthalic anhydride (PA) was low. The demand for o-xylene declined.

Crude naphthalene market review: The Chinese crude naphthalene market remained firm this week. Prices for new orders increased by RMB 100/mt or so. Though the coal tar market decreased, the crude naphthalene was firm as deep-processing producers suffered losses.

PA (o-xylene method) market review: The PA market inched down this week. Up to August 24, the closing price for PA in East China was RMB 6,500/mt, down RMB 100/mt or 1.52% from last week. The closing price for PA in North China was RMB 6,100/mt, unchanged from last week. The downstream demand for PA was low. However, as some PA units were shut, the supply was not high. Hence, the PA market won’t decline greatly on the tight balance of supply and demand.

Forecast: Pressured by the environmental protection supervision, plasticizer, resin, paints and coatings industries will ran at low loads, which will drag down the demand for PA. As some PA units are shut, the supply will move down. It is predicted that the PA market will be largely stable next week.