The average Asian paraxylene January spot price was up $130.76/mt, or 9%, from December's average, while the PX-naphtha average spread value also surged $77.78/mt or 14.1% over the same period, Platts data showed.

The rise in PX prices was partly attributed to higher downstream purified terephthalic acid, which averaged $1,163.74/mt CFR China in January, up $70/mt or 6.4% month on month.

PX sellers were also holding out for higher prices as the January Asia Contract Price for PX was only partially settled at $1,445/mt CFR. If the PX ACP is not fully settled, contract volumes are typically reduced, forcing buyers to seek cargoes in the spot market.

PX spot price closed January 3 at $1,517/mt CFR Taiwan/China but rose to $1,610/mt CFR on January 31, up $93/mt or 6.13%.

PX producers are also seeing their spread against naphtha at a three-month high of $629.04/mt. The average naphtha spot price in January was $955.61/mt CFR Japan, up $52.97/mt or 5.9% from December, Platts data showed.

Meanwhile, despite higher PTA prices in January, producers were still in the red and their losses more than doubled compared with December.

With PX averaging at $1,584.66/mt, PTA needs to be at $1,195.87/mt for producers to break even. The break-even cost is calculated at a PX conversion factor of 0.66 plus a conversion cost of $150/mt. But the average PTA spot price in January was only $1,163.74/mt CFR China, meaning producers were losing about $32.14/mt. In December, PTA producers' margin was minus $15.90/mt.

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