PX market update during Lunar New Year holiday

1. Price movement

During the Lunar New Year holiday, PX price tracked the movement of feedstock. By Feb 23, the price gained $25/mt from Feb 13 to $925/mt CFR China, and PX-naphtha spread increased $5/mt to $311/mt over the same period. Discussion in spot market was muted with talking price on formula pricing basis keeping stable.

Currently, Apr spot PX was discussed at $3/mt discount against $1/mt discount, and May spot at $1.5/mt discount against $1/mt premium, unchanged from the range prior to the holiday. The price movement flattened amid stable fundamentals during the holiday.

2. Plant operations

During the Lunar New Year holiday, both China and Asian PX facilities operated stably with no unplanned changes.

The units at Sinochem Quanzhou and ZPC have now resumed normal operating rates. Overseas, Kuwait Aromatics' unit, which was restarted before the holiday, has also ramped up its operating rate.

However, starting next week, maintenance will begin on some units and there would be minor operating rate adjustments.

3. Imports and exports

Data showed that South Korea's PX exports from February 1 to 20 reached approximately 364,000 tons, an increase of 152,000 tons compared to the same period in 2025 and 91,000 tons compared to the same period in 2024.

South Korea's PX exports surged in the first 20 days of February. This was primarily attributed to the significant increase in PX-naphtha spread in December, which led to higher operating rates at facilities such as SK and GS in South Korea, resulting in increased export volumes to China. Exports to the United States remained relatively low, down approximately 20,000 tons year-on-year.