PX threatened by epidemic outbreak in China and S. Korea

The COVID-19 is spreading fast in Northeast Asia. Market participants show concerns in the supply of petrochemicals, including PX, from South Korea and Japan.

As is known to all, global PX capacity concentrates in Asia. South Korea and Japan account for over 20% of world's total.

China, as a major PX consumer, depends greatly on the imports of PX from South Korea and Japan. China received about 8.14 million tons of PX from those two countries, 54% of the total PX imports.