On January 16, the closing price of p-xylene in Europe fell by $6 per ton, closing at $966-968 per ton FOB Rotterdam.

On January 13, the PX commodity index was 64.80, unchanged from yesterday, down 36.72% from the peak of 102.40 points in the cycle (2013-02-28), and up 42.26% from the low of 45.55 points on February 15, 2016. (Note: Period refers to 2013-02-01 to date).

Recently, the domestic market price trend of p-xylene has been temporarily stable. Pengzhou Petrochemical Plant has been running steadily in the field. Urumqi Petrochemical Plant has started 50% of its operation. Fuhaichuang Aromatic Hydrocarbon Plant has been restarted. Other plants have been running steadily for the time being. The domestic market supply of p-xylene has increased, and the market price trend of p-xylene has been temporarily stable. The opening rate of PX plant in Asia is less than 70%. The closing price of PX plant in Asia increased by 12 US dollars per ton on January 11. The closing price was US$1050-1052 per ton FOB in Korea and US$1070-1072 per ton CFR in China. More than 50% of PX plant in China needed to be imported. The rise of foreign price has a positive impact on domestic market price of paraxylene, and the intra-site price maintained 8,100 yuan per ton.

On January 11, the price of WTI crude oil in February fell to 51.59 U.S. dollars per barrel, a decline of 1.00 U.S. dollars. Brent crude oil in March fell to 60.48 U.S. dollars per barrel, a decline of 1.20 U.S. dollars. Crude oil closing price slightly declined, which has limited support for the price of downstream petrochemical products, and the price trend of paraxylene market is temporarily stable. Recently, the textile industry has risen, downstream PTA market has risen, PTA price has recently risen slightly. The average price of offer in East China is raised near 6400-6600 yuan/ton. As of the 10th day, domestic PTA start-up rate is about 77%, polyester industry start-up rate is about 82%. In addition, the general market of hobby production and marketing, PTA market price is high, and the price of PX market is expected to rise slightly in the later period.

LONDON, Jan. 11 (Reuters) – Copper prices rose on Friday as China and the United States prepared to hold further trade talks to resolve their disputes, sparking hopes of easing trade disputes between the two countries.

U.S. officials expect China’s top trade negotiator to visit Washington this month, suggesting that the two countries may hold higher-level consultations following the middle-level official talks held in Beijing this week.

The tit-for-tat trade dispute between China and the United States has depressed the prices of basic metals, as the market expects that trade disputes will damage demand, especially from China, the largest consumer.

“A series of weak data released at the beginning of the year raised concerns about demand, but given the progress in trade negotiations, the environment for basic metals has improved,” said Jens Pedersen, commodities analyst at Dansk Bank in Denmark.

London Metal Exchange (LME) copper closed up 0.2% at $5,942 a tonne for three-month periods, expected to record its biggest one-week gain since mid-November.

The dollar rose against the euro, boosted by technical factors. The dollar fell earlier as the Federal Reserve (Federal Reserve/FED) will be patient with monetary policy.

According to policy sources, China plans to reduce its economic growth target for 2019 from 6.5% in 2018 to 6.5%. The Chinese government is prepared to deal with adverse factors such as tariffs imposed by the United States and weakening domestic demand.

Antaike, A Research Institute of the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association, said that last year China’s refined zinc production showed its biggest drop since 2013 due to tight raw material supply, prolonged maintenance cycle and relocation of China’s largest smelter.

LME spot zinc has shrunk from three-month zinc discount to $12 per ton, the narrowest level since October 15.

Nickel was the biggest base metal, up 2% to $11,460 a tonne, hitting its highest level since November 15.

Futures aluminium fell 1.3% to $1,836 a tonne.

Zinc rose 1.3% to $2,492 per ton.

Lead rose 1.3% to $2,002 per ton.

Tin rose 0.8% to $20,300 a tonne after hitting a six-month high.

The closing price of p-xylene in the U.S. market rose 12.5 U.S. dollars per ton on January 11, closing at $1000.5-1010.5 U.S. dollars per ton FOB in the U.S. Gulf.

On January 8, the PX commodity index was 64.80, which was the same as yesterday. It was 36.72% lower than the peak of 102.40 points in the cycle (2013-02-28), and 42.26% higher than the low of 45.55 points on February 15, 2016. (Note: Period refers to 2013-02-01 to date).

Recently, the domestic market price trend of p-xylene has been temporarily stable. Pengzhou Petrochemical Unit has been running steadily. Urumqi Petrochemical Unit has started 50% of its operation. Fuhaichuang Aromatic Hydrocarbon Unit has been in shutdown. Other units have been running steadily for the time being. The domestic market supply of p-xylene is normal. The market price trend of p-xylene is temporarily stable. The opening rate of PX plant in Asia is less than 70%. On Jan. 8, the closing price of PX plant in Asia increased by 9 US dollars/ton. The closing price was 984-986 US dollars/ton FOB in Korea and 1004-1006 US dollars/ton CFR in China. More than 50% of PX plant in China needed to be imported. The rise of foreign price has a positive impact on domestic market price of paraxylene, and the intra-site price maintained 8,100 RMB/ton.

On January 8, the price of WTI crude oil in February rose to $49.78 per barrel, an increase of $1.26. Brent crude oil in March rose to $58.72 per barrel, an increase of $1.39. The closing price of crude oil rose slightly, which supported the price of downstream petrochemical products. The price trend of paraxylene market was temporarily stable. Recent textile industry prices have risen, downstream PTA market prices have risen slightly, PTA prices have recently risen slightly. The average offer price in East China is raised near 6300-6400 yuan/ton. As of the 8th day, domestic PTA start-up rate is about 75%, polyester industry start-up rate is about 84%. In addition, the upstream production and marketing market is general, PTA market prices have declined, and the price of PX market is expected to remain volatile in the later period.