A manufacturing slowdown is now well underway in China, as the latest official and unofficial Indices confirm. The government is mitigating this via its policy of self-sufficiency – which means a steady reduction in the need for imports – as well as by increasing exports of higher value-added products such as polyethylene (PE). PE is the largest volume plastic, used in […]
Chemicals and the Economy
China sees $13.5bn of fake September ‘collateral trade’ invoices
China’s ‘collateral trade’ is still a major force in world markets for iron ore, copper and even plastics such as polyethylene. September’s data suggests $13.5bn of fake invoices added 56% to the value of China’s exports to Hong Kong, as property developers strove to raise cash to finish their buildings. Full details of the trade […]
Polymer markets at risk if China’s ‘collateral trade’ unwinds
Global metal markets are at growing risk from developments in China’s ‘collateral trade’, as yesterday’s post highlighted. Worryingly, so are products such as polyethylene and ethylene glycol, as it seems likely these have also been used as collateral more recently. This will be bad news for producers already suffering from slowing demand: China’s economy continues to weaken as the […]
China’s $10bn trade deal fraud hits iron ore and copper markets
Iron ore prices on China’s futures market were at 5-year lows yesterday. Copper prices also weakened in Australia. This adds to the blog’s concern that China’s ‘collateral trade’ market is getting closer and closer to its ‘moment of truth’. This will come as an awful shock to most outside observers, who have been led to believe China’s vast imports […]
Eliminating the impossible in China’s polyethylene market
Very large amounts of copper, iron and other commodities are in long-term storage in China as part of the ‘collateral trade’. More recently, it seems large amounts of polyethylene (PE), ethylene glycol (MEG) and probably other chemicals have also started to be used for the trade. None of this used to matter when the Chinese economy was booming. Why […]
Polyethylene, shadow banking and China’s ‘collateral trade’
The blog’s latest post for the Financial Times, published on the BeyondBrics blog is below. By Paul Hodges of International eChem Strange things are happening in China’s polyethylene (PE) market. Despite a slowdown in the economy, demand is surging. Our research suggests that PE, like copper and iron before it, is the latest instrument of China’s […]
$20tn US, China stimulus and lending – but recovery elusive
Despite all the positive headlines, the world’s two largest economies have failed to deliver sustained recovery, even though the 2 governments have now spent a combined $20tn in stimulus and lending. US STIMULUS REACHES $10tn The US government and Federal Reserve have spent $10tn since the Great Recession began in 2008. Federal deficits have increased by $6.27tn, whilst […]
$15bn gold loan scam revealed: Beijing property sales fall 50%
Almost every day brings new revelations about the growing evidence of major fraud in China’s ‘collateral trade’. Yet the world’s financial markets remain very complacent. They have forgotten the basic rule, that the first example is usually the tip of the iceberg – not a one-off mistake. They have also forgotten that the real problems only emerge when […]
China’s earthquake opens fault-lines in debt-fuelled ‘ring of fire’
We can all hope that China’s ‘collateral trade’ turns out not to be as big a problem as seems likely. But history shows that this type of problem has a way of escalating once people start investigating more closely. Thus state-owned Citic revealed yesterday that it has lost $40m in the Qingdao scandal, as half of its […]
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