Prices of Mixed Xylene have continued to follow the downward trend across the globe during the last week of November 2022. Weak upstream prices, bearish downstream demand, and tumbling in energy prices have hampered the market growth of Mixed Xylene.

In China, prices of Mixed Xylene showed a marginal decline of around 0.4% on a weekly basis, backed by the stable demand from the end-user paint and coating and allied industries. According to the data, China's manufacturing activity slightly contracted as the lockdown amplified to deal with rising Covid cases. Also, PMI fell from 49.2 to 48 in November 2022. Market participants reported ample inventories and weak buying sentiment in the Chinese market. As a result, Mixed Xylene prices were offered at 1110/MT Ex- Qingdao during the previous week.

Similarly, in South Korea, Mixed Xylene prices have continued their bearish rally into the last week of November; as of the week ending 25th November 2022, Mixed Xylene prices were assessed at USD 894/MT FOB Busan, observing a drop of more than 5% on a weekly basis. The continual decline in crude oil prices, coupled with stable demand from downstream paint and coating and other value chains, culminated in weak pricing sentiment in the South Korean market. Meanwhile, international demand sentiment has also been on the stable side, as observed in the early H2 of Q4 2022. However, South Korea's unionized cargo truck drivers went on a nationwide strike on 24th November 2022, which disrupted petrochemical production and logistics operations across the country.

Furthermore, Mixed Xylene prices have plunged by more than 10% in the German market. Persistent weak cost support, stability in energy prices, and cheaper Asian imports have resulted in another price drop. In contrast, natural gas prices have shown a marginal change in the prices as the winter season reaches its peak. Additionally, as the construction and derivative industries have not been experiencing much demand, the offtake of Mixed Xylene from these industries has been decrementing, weighing down the prices of Mixed Xylene in the domestic market.

On the other hand, lackluster demand and ease in Crude oil prices have resulted in the price drop of Mixed Xylene in the US. Moreover, imports continue to remain cheap on the US shores as freight charges reach normalcy from Asia to the US. In contrast, pricing sentiment in Asian countries continues to remain weak. In conclusion, prices of Mixed Xylene were settled at USD 1423/MT during the same time frame.

According to ChemAnalyst, "the rebound in the construction and allied industry will increase the market fundamentals of Mixed Xylene. However, anticipating the current economic situation, the prices of Mixed Xylene will expect to continue their downtrend across the globe amid dropping upstream crude oil prices and a weakening in the supply chain during the forthcoming weeks.