Source of graph: http://www.economist.com/
By John Richardson
AN assumption is that China’s auto ownership will continue to rapidly expand and that, therefore, there will be a big need for substantial domestic expansions of butadiene and synthetic rubber capacity to make …
By John Richardson
“HOW do a I tell my customers that polyethylene (PE) price rises are justified by more expensive naphtha, when the market is so weak?” asked an Asia-based sales and marketing executive with a major producer earlier this …
By John Richardson
NEW infrastructure projects in China (see above chart from Rio Tinto) might deliver a boost to chemicals and polymer demand growth in Q4 this year and into 2013.
But doubts are being expressed about whether some …
By John Richardson
CHINA’s bank lending slumped by 41.3 percent in July from the previous month, the country’s central bank announced last Friday.
This was well below the median forecast of 14 economists polled by Dow Jones newswire, and added …
By John Richardson
MONO-ETHYLENE glycol (MEG) exports to China rose to 4.12m tonnes in the first half of this year from 3.38m tonnes during the same period in 2011, according to data from Global Trade Information Services (GTIS).
The main …
By John Richardson
CHINA’S steel production is expected to decline for the first time in 31 years during 2012. Yes, 31 years.
“The end of three decades of growth in a key industry will add to hand-wringing over China’s economy,” …
Chart sourced from: http://www.financialsense.com/
By John Richardson
“THE worse things get the better they are,” continues to be the mantra in financial and commodity markets these days.
For example, China’s inflation slowed to 1.8 percent in July compared with …
By John Richardson
India, along with China, seems unlikely to deliver the contribution to global economic growth expected by the International Monetary Fund as late as April of this year (see above chart).
In the case of India, last week’s …
By John Richardson
THE consensus view is that China’s economy bottomed out in H1 and will see a recovery in GDP growth during the second half.
Much hope has been attached to more government stimulus delivering a short-term boost to …
By John Richardson
POLYMER markets continue to tell us that China’s 2009-2010 economic stimulus programme delivered unsustainable demand growth.
China’s demand for polyvinyl chloride (PVC) surged from 10.9m tonnes in 2009 to 13.2m tonnes in 2010, according to Global Trade …