China’s four biggest privately-owned PTA producers had finalised their February PTA contract prices at 500yuan/tonne ($73/tonne) higher compared to the previous month’s settlement. It is strong demand amid tight supply that dictated the higher price. Xiang Lu Petrochemical, Yisheng Petrochemical, Hualian Sunshine Petrochemical and BP Zhuhai settled their February price at CNY6,500/tonne DEL against January’s price of CNY6,000/tonne DEL. PTA producers were running their plants at low operating rates mainly due to shortage of feedstock paraxylene ，limiting the supply available to the market. Last Friday, state-affiliated Sinopec also raised its February price but at a slightly lower price compared to the other four producers at CNY6,400/tonne DEL.