Chemicals Updates: Asian paraxylene slid $10.50/mt from Tuesday to $739.50/mt CFR Taiwan/China and $721.50/mt FOB Korea Tuesday.


- COVID-19 spread into S Korea, China major factor impacting markets
- Negotiations for March PX ACP to begin this week
- China's Hanbang restarts 2.2 mils mt/year PTA unit Tuesday
Asian paraxylene slid $10.50/mt from Tuesday to $739.50/mt CFR Taiwan/China and $721.50/mt FOB Korea Tuesday, on renewed concerns amid a surge of COVID-19 cases outside China (Chemicals Updates). Weaker prices from the start of the day were also in line with the plunge in related markets. April ICE Brent crude oil futures were down $2/b at $56.56/b at 0830 GMT Asian close Tuesday, while the C&F Japan naphtha marker was assessed down $20.75/mt from Tuesday at $475.75/mt Tuesday, S&P Global data showed. The spread of the coronavirus is the major factor affecting Asian petrochemical markets and the development in South Korea, China, and other Asian countries will likely set the tone for the swing in crude oil values and commodity prices, sources said. The April/May structure flipped back to a contango of 75 cents/mt Tuesday after moving into a backwardation briefly last week (Chemicals Updates). This week, sellers and buyers will start negotiations for the March Asian Contract Price for PX, which has not settled since August 30 last year, when the September contract was agreed upon at $780/mt CFR Asia. During the Market on Close process Tuesday, a May cargo was traded between SK Networks and BP Singapore at $740/mt. In-plant news, China's Hanbang Petrochemical, also known as China Prosperity Jiangyin Petrochemical has restarted its 2.2 million mt/year purified terephthalic acid unit at Jiangyin, Jiangsu, on Tuesday, a source close to the company said. The plant was shut about 10 days ago for maintenance, the source added (Chemicals Updates). Asian PTA is generally under pressure due to ample supply and weak demand in China following the COVID-19 outbreak. The CFR China PTA marker was assessed unchanged from last Tuesday at $570/mt on Tuesday, data showed. Meanwhile, May PTA futures on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange fell Yuan 48/mt on the day to Yuan 4,494/mt (Chemicals Updates).

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