PX-naphtha spread gets narrowed but operating rate is stable

China PX market was in a lull in Apr. In the lack of a clear direction, PX price tracked the movements of upstream naphtha and downstream PTA. However, the market was still under immerse strain from long supply and demand fundamentals.

1. PX-naphtha spread gets narrowed, but operating rate is stable
PX-naphtha spread has increased to 6-month high since this Mar. Though it has dropped in Apr, it was still higher than the lows recorded in last Nov-Dec. As the spread was acceptable, China PX operating rate was kept stable at highs. The operating rate of PX plants in China averaged 80.5% to-date in Apr, rebounding to the new high since Oct 2019.