Phthalic Anhydride Prices Dwindle; Demand to remain slow after Diwali – 20 Oct 2014

With Crude oil price falling below $85 per Barrel, prices of Aromatics including Benzene, Toluene and Xylene have fallen quite sharply. Phthalic Anhydride prices move in proportion with the prices of Ortho-Xylene.Phthalic Anhydride prices fell Rs.9 per Kg to reach the trading level of Rs. 76 per Kg, within a span of one week.

Demand for PA has been quite week and it seems it will only slow down post Diwali, a market source informed Indianpetrochem. This means that after Diwali, prices of PA could fall further. In a nutshell, flat market and fall in crude oil price are major forces behind this trend.

Also, OPEC is not expected to reduce the crude supply after the November meet. If OPEC doen't cut supplies, chances are that crude oil may fall below $80 per Barrel.