By Malini Hariharan The last two weeks has seen a recovery in Indian polyolefins demand led by developments in China. Prices of PE and PP have risen sharply and traders expect the uptrend to continue for the next couple of weeks as converters need to rebuild depleted inventories. But unless buying can be sustained in […]
Asian Chemical Connections
Rocky road ahead
By Malini Hariharan Asian polyolefin producers confront yet another challenging week. The macro environment suggests that implementing price hikes for September cargoes will be difficult. Stock markets around the world continue to be jittery with concerns about a US recession and debt problems in Europe still in the forefront. Support from oil also appears uncertain. […]
Yet another week of price corrections
By Malini Hariharan Asian petrochemical markets continue to face downward pressure on concerns about the health of the global economy. Market sentiment for most products remains poor with buyers in no rush to resume purchases. Polyolefin markets closed last week on a weak note. Prices of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and polypropylene (PP) dropped $10-40/tonne last […]
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, […]
Tough times start for India polyolefins
By Malini Hariharan Tension is building up in the Indian polyolefin market with buying activity slowing down in recent weeks. “The market is really dull; trading activity is very flat and end-users are taking minimum quantities. We are worried that the situation will worsen if we offer more discounts,” says a concerned producer. The slow […]
China market problems persist
By John Richardson WHILE ethylene prices rose to a 14-month high last week on very expensive oil and the Shell Chemicals outage in Singapore, the ICIS pricing C2 margin report calculated a staggering $134/tonne fall in Northeast Asian margins. Rising naphtha is clearly not being passed on down the chain. Meanwhile, low-density polyethylene (LDPE) margins […]
Are you feeling the pinch?
By Malini Hariharan With crude oil at around $88/bbl and naphtha hitting $890/tonne cfr Japan on Monday, the pressure is building up along the olefins chain. Ethylene is trading at around $1200/tonne cfr NEA while propylene is at $1280/tonne cfr NEA. Offers of ethylene at above $1250/tonne and propylene at $1320-1330/tonne have not found any […]
Don’t worry, be happy
By Malini Hariharan The blog was able to talk to a Korean polyolefins producer who was not perturbed by the recent weakness in Chinese demand and was fairly confident of selling October volumes. “It’s the holiday season so converters do not want to buy. But I see no reason to lower prices. We have sold […]
Operating problems strike Asian polyolefins
By Malini Hariharan Just when polyolefin markets have started recovering operating issues are cropping up at plants in Asia. ExxonMobil was forced to shut its 600,000 tonnes/year polyethylene (PE) plant in Singapore on Tuesday for two weeks due to undisclosed problems. The PE plant had faced problems in early July when it was shut down […]
What’s next for Honam?
By Malini Hariharan Honam Petrochemical’s plan to acquire Malaysia’s Titan Chemical could well be the start of the South Korean major’s foray overseas. “Honam will keep looking for other M&A opportunities in the chemicals space,” said a source close to the company. Their interest is not only in basic chemicals but also intermediates and speciality […]
Jump to page: