The H1 December FOB Korea assessment shot up $16 to $970/mt. USG-Korea freight was pegged at $55/mt for a 5,000 mt parcel. US Gulf Coast offers started at 300 cents/gal ($909/mt), flat to Friday's close, and were as high as 305 cents/gal.
Assuming one could buy at 300 cents/gal, the landed price would be around $964/mt, leaving $6 in trader profit. However, no deals had yet been reported done.
Participants remained bullish for downstream PX and PTA in Asia as seasonal demand for the polyester fiber segment kicked up between December and March. Further, Chinese buyers returned to the market Monday, after a week-long holiday.
These bullish factors pushed Asian PX up $15/mt to $1,118/mt FOB Korea and $1,133/mt CFR Taiwan/China. Meanwhile, PTA futures on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange escalated Yuan 280/mt, or around $40/mt, to Yuan 8,640/mt.
China Chemical Weekly: http://news.chemnet.com/en/detail-1411716.html
