US paraxylene contracts for April were initially settling at 40 cents/lb ($882/mt) Monday, 2 cents higher than March, sources said.
Contract prices are typically settled retroactively.
Market participants expected upward movement in April contracts because of higher paraxylene pricing in Asia and stronger demand to send paraxylene to that region, sources said.
Derivative demand was better as the bottling season was ongoing, sources said.
The US spot price has been staying around the netback to Asia. There's interest to send paraxylene to Asia, but vessel space is limited, sources said.
US spot paraxylene was assessed at $735/mt FOB US Gulf Coast Monday.
