The March US mixed xylene contract price settled at $4.40/gal ($1,333/mt) Tuesday, 6 cents ($18.18/mt) lower than February's mark, trading sources said.
Sources expected the contract price to settle lower after a decline in spot MX prices. Spot prices have been been on a downward trend since February 11, when MX was assessed at $4.66/gal FOB US Gulf Coast.
Sources have attributed the decline to a weakening in downstream paraxylene demand, although MX demand for blending has remained strong.
US spot MX was last assessed at $4.42/gal FOB US Gulf Coast Monday and was talked in a range of $4.45-4.65/gal during Tuesday's assessment window.
