Tight supply supports PX market

According to several market analysis agencies, the tight supply situation in the global paraxylene (PX) market in the first half of 2022 is likely to continue into the third quarter, while large-scale expansion in Asia may show oversupply pressure by the end of the yea.

Asian markets remain relatively tight

Like the rest of the world, in the second quarter of 2022, PX prices in Asia were supported by factors such as rising energy prices, operating load factor cuts and planned maintenance, and the PX-Naphtha spread widened to a more than two-year hig.

"Due to strong gasoline demand, no one is likely to increase PX production," a producer sai.

On the supply side, although several major plants completed planned overhauls in the first half of 2022, the region will see another overhaul season later in the third quarter as some Northeast Asian producers have planned to stop productio.

In addition, supply shortages in the US and Europe at low run rates spurred appetite for Asian PX cargoes in these regions in the second quarte.

European PX continues to be bullish

European PX production margins are low due to high energy and raw material price.

The supply of gasoline blending components is limited in the summer due to strong gasoline demand during the European and .

There are many factors affecting the US PX market

Sources said that at the beginning of the second quarter, the price of imported PX in the United States was high, but it was still a better option than domestic production in the United State.