Two years ago, the blog began to survey global stock markets on what turned out to be the day they began their major rally. Its end-April launch of Downturn Alert may prove similarly fortuitous. Since then (shaded area), Brent crude oil is down 8%. Similarly naphtha is down 11%, benzene down 2%, HDPE 6% and […]
Chemicals and the Economy
BASF warn on over-expansion and China
The blog was very interested to see a recent ICIS interview with Torsten Penkuhn, BASF’s petchem head in Asia, by Will Beacham. Penkuhn noted: “We are more and more concerned at BASF about an increasing risk of overbuilding once again. We currently see a risk that people are becoming too ambitious, enthusiastic and optimistic. And […]
China fines Unilever for soap price increases
There seems little doubt that China is increasingly worried by rising inflation. The latest sign is Unilever, the giant consumer products company, being fined $300k (RMB 2 million), for discussing plans to increase prices due to higher raw material costs. Those who can remember the US WIN (Whip Inflation Now) programme, or the UK’s Prices […]
The other side of the China debate
There are always two sides to every debate. Dow Chemical CEO, Andrew Liveris, clearly has a radically different point of view to the blog’s about the likely outlook for China’s demand. Liveris told analysts in this week’s earnings call that “any indications of high inventories (in China) are likely to be transitory“. As ICB editor […]
China’s empty shopping malls
The South China Mall opened nearly 6 years ago. Nearly 3 times the size of Minnesota’s vast Mall of America in the USA, it supposedly symbolised China’s arrival as a consumer power. But as this Australian TV video shows, the Mall today is virtually empty. As are numerous other shopping malls built more recently. Yet […]
Ethylene derivative imports threaten European markets
The chart above is a flashing amber light for European cracker operators. Based on ICIS Pricing data, it shows the delta between (a) European and US ethylene contract prices (blue line), and (b) Europe and the North East Asian spot price (red line). Usually, these deltas range between -$50/t and $100/t. H2 2008 was clearly […]
China’s inflation out of control
China’s inflation hit 5.4% last month. As the chart above shows, it has more than doubled over the past year. And food prices jumped 11.7%. Clearly, inflation is now out of control, with the Ministry of Finance admitting the situation is “severe and hard to handle“. A sign of the scale of the problem is […]
Boom/Gloom index signals rising austerity
Q1 was a very strong quarter for Western companies operating at the upstream end of the chemicals value chain: • Plants were generally operating well, with few force majeures • Most importantly, the crude oil price jumped 20%. Many buyers had reduced inventory in December for working capital reasons. Then they found they had to […]
China’s economy hits the ‘pause’ button
The blog’s recent Asian visit revealed considerable anxiety about the state of demand in China. As its blogging colleague, John Richardson, has also described, the country’s lending cutbacks may finally be taking effect. New official figures for lending and electricity consumption support this view. These are two of the only 3 figures trusted by likely […]
China has “60% risk of banking crisis by 2013”
China’s housing market seems to be facing the threat of a major downturn. That is the only conclusion to be drawn from the rising sense of concern being expressed by policymakers and the official media. Last year, China’s Academy of Social Sciences estimated that “there are 64.5 million empty apartments and houses in China’s urban […]
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