Opening snapshot
The Asian polyester feedstock chain repriced sharply in the week ended June **, ****, as the unwinding of the Middle East war premium drove a broad decline in crude and downstream feedstocks. TexPro data show synchronised price declines across naphtha, paraxylene, purified terephthalic acid (PTA) and monoethylene glycol (MEG). The result is a more favourable cost environment for Asian textile producers, although downstream demand continues to constrain pricing power.
Key price movement
Crude led the descent. Brent Dated closed Friday at $**.** per barrel, down **.** per cent from the prior week’s $**.**. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) Cushing settled at $**.**, its first sub-$** closes since February **, the day before the Iran conflict began.
The cascade through the polyester chain was steep but orderly. Paraxylene CFR Taiwan slid *.** per cent to $*** per tonne; CFR SE Asia eased *.** per cent to $*,***. PTA CFR SE Asia softened *.** per cent to $***, with CFR FE Asia down *.** per cent to $***. Naphtha CFR FE Asia and CFR Japan both shed *.** per cent, closing at $*** and $***.
MEG was the lone outperformer: CFR China eased *.** per cent to $***; CFR SE Asia held flat at $*** despite touching $*** mid-week.
