Paraxylene: Trading
The Asian contract price and China's young futures market
The Asian contract price and China's young futures market What this tab covers How it is bought and sold: buyers and sellers, price benchmarks and who publishes them, exchanges, contract types, traders, how Indian buyers price it, recent price points, and good sources to follow.Who buys, and where
- China
- Taiwan
- United States
- Turkey and Southeast Asian PTA makers
Who sells, and from where
- South Korea
- Japan
- India
- Brunei
- Thailand
- Singapore
- Saudi Arabia and Oman
Price benchmarks
| Benchmark | Publisher | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Platts PX CFR Taiwan/China | S&P Global Platts | spot, daily |
| Asian Contract Price (ACP) | set by major producers and buyers, reported by Platts and ICIS | monthly contract |
| ICIS and Argus PX Asia | ICIS, Argus | spot |
Exchanges
| Venue | Contract | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange | Paraxylene futures, 5 t per lot, yuan, physical delivery | Launched 15 September 2023 (S&P Global). |
Contract types
- Term contracts at monthly ACP or formula on Platts averages
- Spot cargoes, typically 5,000-10,000 t
- Paper swaps on Platts CFR Taiwan/China
Traders and distributors
- Glencore
- Vitol
- Mitsui
- Mitsubishi Corporation
- Itochu
- Producer trading arms
How Indian buyers price it
- Reliance and other Indian producers sell PX at export parity to CFR Taiwan/China markers; captive PX for PTA is transfer-priced (indicative).
- Indian PTA makers buy imported PX at CFR India against Asian markers (indicative).
Recent price points
| Date | Price | Basis | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mid-Nov 2024 | below $800/t | Asia spot | Argus |
| 2 Mar 2026 | $999.33/t | CFR Taiwan/China | S&P Global Platts |
| 7 Oct 2026 | about $1,283/t | Asia | Procurement Resource |
Good sources to follow
Argus market opinion and analysis blogfree blog · Argus MediaParaxylene and polyester chain analysis
Fibre2Fashion textile news (PX, PTA, MEG prices)free research site · Fibre2FashionWeekly polyester chain price notes
Mysteel Globalfreemium research site · MysteelChina PX imports and capacity
Asian Chemical Connectionsfree blog · John Richardson, ICISChina self-sufficiency in polyester chain