Sino US Trade War: Asian PX Market Deducts Roller Coaster Market In The First Half Of 2019

In the first half of 2019, the Asian PX market could be said to be on the rise, but the strength of the first quarter was strong. However, the two quarter fell sharply, not only in the first half of the year, but also in the low level this year. In the first half of this year, the price fluctuation range of CFR in Taiwan fluctuated around 800-1132 US dollars / ton. The overall situation was inverted V, the environment was weak, the trade war between China and the United States was tense and the market for chemical products was inhibited. Meanwhile, the gradual release of PX's new capacity was also a major factor for the market to go down.

Source: LIAN

At the beginning of the year, PX saw a rapid rise in the market. The international crude oil continued to rise, the environment was warming up, the upstream and downstream markets rebounded as a whole, and the downstream PTA started to be on the high side, the enthusiasm for purchasing PX increased, and the PX business offer continued to improve. In addition, the Fujian joint PX device stopped parking due to the upstream device problem, and the domestic supply volume did not recover, and the market enthusiasm was higher. On the eve of the Spring Festival, terminal polyester demand capacity is limited, PX turns to shock. After the Spring Festival, terminal demand begins to recover. In addition, Fuhai set up a set of PTA devices to resume production, PX demand increased further, merchants had high price intention, and low price goods were hard to find. In addition, CNOOC Huizhou refining and chemical PX device began to overhaul in late February.

Restart the resumption of production, the domestic supply is expected to increase, and the business offer is loose. At the end of 3, Dalian's Hengli 2 million 250 thousand tons / year PX production line was put into operation. At the same time, the downstream PTA repair facilities were weakened, and the demand for PX weakened, and the imbalance between supply and demand led to a drop in the PX market. In April, Taiwan No. 3 aromatics factory stopped the fire due to the fire, which involved 930 thousand tons / year of PX production capacity. This news triggered a rise in business, but the market returned to rationality after two weeks of rebounding. The new device of Hengli PX has begun to supply its own downstream businesses. Businesses are generally worried that the supply of PX will remain low in the future, and that the supply of the PX will be left behind in the future. In mid March, the industry chain began to weaken. Fuhai set up a 800 thousand ton / year PX production line smoothly. In the first half of May, CNOOC Huizhou PX plant was reopened after maintenance, and Dalian Hengli Petrochemical set up another 2 million 250 thousand ton / year PX new plant, which resulted in a substantial reduction in import demand for PX, and the import and export of PX was under pressure. PX profits shrank seriously. In June, PX basically fell at a low level. Crude oil overturned and rebound, and domestic Fuhai Chuang, Liaoyang petrochemical and Luoyang Petrochemical were all overhauled and overhauled. Domestic supply was tight, and the PX market was temporarily on the rebound. However, the new equipment of Zhonghua Hongrun PX started trial run at the end of June, while long-term shipments continued to be under pressure, and the market was weak.