NPRA '08: US chem trader sees US dollar rebound

31 March 2008 21:27  [Source: ICIS news]

SAN ANTONIO, Texas (ICIS news)--The US dollar would likely reverse its losing trend by the end of the year, re-opening the arbitrage for some imports into the US market, a US chemical trader said on Monday.

"It will not back to what it was before, but we expect to see a strengthening," the trader said on the sidelines of the National Petrochemical & Refiners Association (NPRA) annual meeting in San Antonio, Texas.

The US dollar has weakened sharply alongside the slide of the US economy towards recession. Recent cuts in US interest rates have placed further pressure on the dollar.

The currency weakness has had a silver lining for the local chemical industry.

The US will have a chemical trade surplus of close to $2.1bn (€1.3bn) in 2008 as a result of the weakened dollar and flat import growth, according to a projection by the American Chemistry Council (ACC).

($1 = €0.63)

By: William Lemos
+1 713 525 2653

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