By Malini Hariharan Shell Chemicals has become the latest entrant to a steadily growing list of companies looking at new cracker investments in the US. As we wrote about last week, Shell Chemicals told us in an interview at the Asia Petrochemical Industry Conference (APIC) in Fukuoka, Japan, that it was evaluating brown and greenfield […]
Asian Chemical Connections
HSBC: Speculation Adds $30 To Oil
By Malini Hariharan GROWTH in China and other leading economies has slowed and oil prices have slipped but analysts are predicting strong prices for the rest of 2011 and 2012. Their reasoning is based on continued speculative activity in this commodity and geopolitical risks in the Middle East . HSBC’s recent report on this subject estimates […]
New Normal Course In Frankfurt On 16-17 June
The blog is excited about its first New Normal seminar in Frankfurt, Germany this month. It follows February’s successful launch in Singapore, and is being held in association with International eChem on 16-17 June. The Workshop aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the factors that will impact the petrochemical market over the next few years: […]
Global Polyolefins At A Tipping Point
By John Richardson A GLOBAL slowdown in manufacturing is already being reflected in European and US polyolefin markets as anxiety in the industry grows over the prospects for the rest of this year. European June contract prices for ethylene and propylene have declined after seven consecutive months of increases. Ethylene contracts have slipped by Euros45/tonne […]
Pressure builds up as manufacturing growth slows
By Malini Hariharan Government measures across Asia to ease inflationary pressure are finally yielding results. The latest economic indicators from China and India confirm a loss in manufacturing growth momentum which is likely to put further pressure on troubled polyolefin markets. In China, the official Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), from the China Federation of Logistics, […]
LDPE Re-investment Case Gets Harder
By John Richardson JUST when you thought it might have been safe to push really hard for building more low-density polyethylene (LDPE), prices have started to decline. European prices, for example, recently slipped by Euros30/tonne with Asia down by $20-50/tonne last week, according to ICIS pricing. Overall polyolefin prices are, of course, on the decline – […]
APIC Delegates Focus On Capacity
By John Richardson THE article of faith publicly expressed at last week’s Asia Petrochemical Industry Conference (APIC) in Fukuoka, Japan, was that the current problems with demand in China and India were only temporary. Discussions the blog held were packed with the conventional wisdom that not enough capacity would be built over the next few […]
MEG reacts to Taiwan developments
By Malini Hariharan Spot monoethylene glycol (MEG) markets have quickly reacted to news that Nan Ya Plastics, an affiliate of the Formosa Plastics Group, has been ordered by the Taiwanese government to shut down two plants. Prices surged by $15-30/tonne to $1,140-1,160/tonne CFR China, reports the blog’s colleague Becky Zhang on ICIS news. Nan Ya […]
Safety issues haunt Formosa
By Malini Hariharan Formosa Plastics Group’s (FPG) problems appear to be escalating with the Taiwanese government ordering six plants to be shut from 1 June on safety concerns. Local news reports state that the plants will have to remain closed until the Yunlin county government and the Council of Labour Affairs are convinced that safety […]
23 Mentions Of China Downturn At APIC
By John Richardson THE blog attended the Asia Pacific Petrochemical Conference (APIC) in Fukuoka, Japan, today during which it heard mention of the phrase “China downturn” on 23 occasions from different contacts. Confidence is clearly at a lower than last year than at APIC in Mumbai, when all the talk was about delayed introduction of […]
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