US orthoxylene contracts settled Tuesday at 71.50 cents/lb, a 6-cent increase over December, according to multiple industry sources.
The increase was expected after the January contract for feedstock MX settled up 36 cents last week, to a record high $4.66/gal ($1,411.98/mt), sources said. That settlement came a month after the MX contract rose 35 cents from November to December, prompting OX contracts to rise by 1.75 cents/lb.
December contracts were assessed at 65.50 cents/lb.
Sources have said the OX market is normal for January, but not at the point where market dynamics justify higher prices, pointing to feedstocks as the reason for the January increase.
It is the largest single-month increase for OX since April 2011, when prices rose by 6.7 cents/lb, according to Platts data.
Large January increase are not uncommon in the market. Prices rose 8.34 cents/lb from December 2010-January 2011 and 4.8 cents/lb from December 2009-January 2011.
