In China, Lunar New Year holidays ended on Feb 18. After that, prices for aromatics strengthened along with firmness in the overseas market. In the Middle East, concerns about supply of petrochemical products are rising due to the conflict in Israel and Palestine and the attack on vessels in the Red Sea.

In the benzene market, volumes of imported cargoes that are delivered to China are low due to the reason stated above and inventories at ports are at a historically low level. In this situation, China Petroleum & Chemical Corp (Sinopec) is raising its ex-works price day by day after the holidays.

In the toluene market, prices are supported by strength in crude prices and high export volumes.

In the mixed xylene (MX) market, selling pressure is low as inventories of petrochemical makers decreased during the Lunar New Year holidays. Further, there are expectations that demand for use as an additive of gasoline might increase and this is also seen to be a bullish factor.

In the paraxylene (PX) market, feedstock costs are high. There are also expectations that demand for use as an additive of gasoline might increase, similar to MX, and this is supporting the market.