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Asia top stories - weekly summary

04 March 2013 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 1 March 2013.

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Focus Asia butac may extend gains on feedstock cost, output cuts
Spot butyl acetate (butac) prices in Asia may extend recent gains on the back of strengthening cost of feedstock n-butanol (NBA) and reduced butac output in China and Taiwan in February, market sources said on Monday.

Focus Tight supply to support Asia benzene prices in March to May
Spot benzene prices in Asia will likely be supported by tight supply stemming from heavy turnaround schedule at regional aromatics facilities from March to May, industry sources said on Monday.

Focus SE Asia C2 market buy-sell gap to widen after record deals
The buy-sell divide in Asia’s ethylene (C2)  market is expected to deepen following recent record deals done into the southeastern part of the region at near $1,550/tonne (€1,178/tonne), traders said on Monday.

China approves Zhejiang Hengyi’s $4bn Brunei refinery project
Zhejiang Hengyi has secured regulatory approval from China to build a planned $4.32bn (€3.28bn) refinery project in Brunei that will house the southeast Asian country's first aromatics production, the company’s parent firm Hengyi Petrochemical said on Tuesday.

Focus Thai PTT eyes better Q1 earnings on high oil prices - analysts
Thailand’s PTT Group will likely see earnings improve in the first quarter of 2013 on the back of high oil prices, but its full-year results may be hit by narrower refining margins because of continued weakness in demand, analysts said on Wednesday.

Focus Asia ABS prices to remain bearish amid weak demand
Asia acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) prices - under pressure this week despite elevated offers quoted by key producers – are unlikely to trend up in the first half of the year due to weak demand, market players said on Thursday.

Focus Asia MEG, DEG crash on panic-selling amid high China inventory
Spot prices of monoethylene glycol (MEG) and diethylene glycol (DEG) in Asia tumbled by as much as 8% this week on panic-selling upon release of data showing that manufacturing activities in the key China market has slowed down, industry sources said on Thursday.

Focus Heavy fog disrupts N China port operations; delays shipments
China’s northern ports of Dalian and Tianjin are currently congested, as heavy fog associated with the spring season intermittently disrupts port operations, shipping sources said on Friday.

Focus Asia naphtha to move sideways despite heavy arbitrage flows
Asia’s naphtha prices are likely to drift sideways as the armada of deep-sea material arriving shortly will just help plug the region’s expected supply shortfall, traders said on Friday.

Mideast PS March offers rolled over from Feb on high SM values
Polystyrene (PS) producers in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region have rolled over their offer prices to the Middle East markets for March from February, market sources said on Thursday.


By: Staff Reporter
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