In US, January PTA price was set down from December and little change is expected in February pricing. January PTA price was down US cents 1.72 a ton from December.

In Europe, PTA contract prices were to be lower on the month and dipped Euro 3 a ton.

Asian PTA markers are notionally set at a roll over in the second week of February at US$560-562 a ton CFR China and US$577-579 a ton CFR Southeast.

In China, before the holidays selling ideas for nearby-month goods were at US$550-555 a ton, and counter offers at US$535 a ton or slightly lower.

Purified terephthalic acid prices stayed flat in a quiet trading week as market participants from mainland China were returning to the market next week.

With the sharp decline in crude and ample supply in both imported and domestic spot market, buying indications were likely to drop substantially.

Meanwhile, China’s Zhejiang Yisheng Petrochemical Co. shut its 2.2 million ton a year No.3 PTA plant at Ningbo for a week’s scheduled maintenance.

Courtesy: Weekly PriceWatch Report