Asia top stories – weekly summary

25 January 2012 01:00  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Here are some of the top stories from ICIS Asia and the Middle East for the week ended 20 January 2012

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Asia petchem shares fall as concerns over Europe debt crisis grow
Shares of petrochemical companies in Asia tumbled on Monday on concerns over a worsening debt crisis in Europe after Standard & Poor’s (S&P) lowered the credit ratings of nine countries in the eurozone.

Focus - East China’s toluene, xylene prices seen falling on oversupply
Domestic toluene and xylene prices in east China are expected to fall after the Lunar New Year holiday on 22-28 January because of oversupply and weak downstream demand, industry sources said on Monday.

Focus - NE Asia C3 spot liquidity to grow on high contract premiums
Spot liquidity in the northeast Asian ''propylene (''C3) market may rise this year, as some buyers in China plan to reduce their contractual commitments given high premiums being sought by traders, market sources said on Tuesday.

Focus - Chinese propylene prices to rise further after 16% increase
Chinese domestic spot propylene prices are likely to rise further after increasing by around 16% in two weeks partly because of tightening supply, market sources said on Tuesday.

Focus - Southeast Asia's methyl acrylate prices to hit 24-month low
Methyl acrylate (methyl-A) prices in southeast Asia look poised to hit a 24-month low on the back of a supply overhang and weak demand, regional producers and traders said on Wednesday.

Asia benzene at five-month high on firm US values, crude gains
Asia’s ''benzene prices hit a five-month high on Wednesday, tracking gains in US prices as crude values spiked overnight, market players said.

Focus - Asia tyre makers resist BR price hikes for February, March
Major tyre makers in Asia, stricken with weak exports sales, are putting up a strong resistance to a $300-500/tonne (€234-390/tonne) hike in ''butadiene rubber prices this week for February and March shipments, industry sources said on Thursday.

Focus - China, SE Asia PE, PP prices to rise on Al-Jubail outages
Polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) prices in China and southeast Asia are expected to rise in the coming weeks if the facilities in Al-Jubail, Saudi Arabia, suffer a prolonged shutdown after a power trip, industry sources said on Friday.

Focus - Turnarounds, plant issues limit Asia benzene supply in Q1
Asia’s benzene supply will be balanced to tight in the first quarter given a slew of scheduled turnarounds and some production issues at the aromatics facilities in the region, market sources said on Friday.

Focus - Asia petrochemical demand, prices to firm post-Lunar New Year
Spot prices of petrochemicals in Asia may get a good nudge up following an expected virtual halt in trades next week as the region celebrates the Lunar New Year, with most market players hoping for a strong pick-up in buying activities.

Focus - India's PE, PP prices to firm on Al-Jubail plant outages
Higher import prices in India for polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) are likely to emerge next week, following a widespread outage of PE and PP facilities at the Al-Jubail Industrial Park in Saudi Arabia, industry sources said on Friday.

Saudi Aramco, Sinopec sign deal for Yanbu refinery venture
Saudi Aramco has signed a joint venture agreement with China’s state-owned oil refiner, ''Sinopec, to build a 400,000 bbl/day refinery in Yanbu on the kingdom's Red Sea coast, the country’s official news agency said over the weekend.

Power outage in Saudi's Al-Jubail forces PE, PP plants to shut
Polyethylene (PE) and ''polypropylene (PP) plants in Saudi Arabia’s Al-Jubail Industrial Park were forced to shut on the evening of 19 January because of a power outage, raising concerns about polymer prices in China, southeast Asia and India, industry sources said on Friday.

Focus - Africa PE markets could resist Asia, Europe bullishness in Feb
Polyethylene (PE) buyers in Africa are resisting persistent producer efforts to increase import spot prices for a third week in a row, with the trend likely to continue into February, sources said on Thursday.

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