Asia top stories - weekly summary

07 May 2012 02:00  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Here are some of the top stories from ICIS Asia and the Middle east for the week ended 4 May 2012.

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Focus - China’s GP PMMA price hikes for May unlikely – players
China’s general purpose (GP) polymethyl methylacrylate (PMMA) producers are unlikely to implement price hikes for May successfully because of weak market fundamentals, despite rising feedstock methyl methacrylate (MMA) costs, market players said on Friday.

Focus - Asia BR downtrend to persist on weak demand, plunging BD prices
Asia butadiene rubber (BR) prices look set to fall further, tracking steep declines in values of feedstock butadiene (BD), given continued weakness in demand, industry sources said on Friday.

Focus - East China toluene to extend gains on short supply
Spot toluene prices in eastern China may continue to increase through next week, supported by a supply shortage that will only ease in mid-May, traders said on Thursday.

Focus - Weak nylon sector to temper Asia caprolactam price gains
A weakness in nylon chips (polyamide) sector may temper efforts by producers and traders of feedstock caprolactam to hike prices, market players said on Thursday.

Focus - Asia soap noodle prices to remain firm on high feedstock costs
Asia’s soap noodles prices are expected to remain firm because of rising feedstock costs, but demand at the higher prices continues to be slow, market sources said on Thursday.

Focus - Asia’s hydrous ethanol prices to be stable-to-firm on low supply
Asia’s hydrous ethanol prices are expected to remain at their current levels with some firming up expected in the third quarter because of tightening supply from Brazil, market sources said Wednesday.

Focus - Asia BD may extend falls after 14% slump on weak demand
Spot butadiene (BD) prices in Asia look set to continue falling, after shedding 14% last week to below $3,000/tonne (€2,280/tonne), as demand weakened because of shutdowns at downstream plants, industry sources said on Tuesday.

Focus - Refining loss to persist for China’s Sinopec in '12 - analysts
China’s Sinopec is expected to continue incurring losses from its refining operations throughout the year, with earnings from its chemicals segment expected to fall, as oil product prices remained regulated in the world’s second biggest economy, analysts said on Monday.

Qatar's QAPCO on track to start up LDPE-3 unit by end May
Qatar Petrochemical Co (QAPCO) is on track to start up its new 300,000 tonne/year low density polyethylene (LDPE) facility, or LDPE-3, at Mesaieed in Qatar by the end of May, a source close to the company said on Wednesday.

By: Staff Reporter
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