Entries from Asian Chemical Connections tagged with 'polyester'
Polyester Another Victim Of Hype
By John Richardson SEVERAL major petrochemical companies only have one scenario for China, which is that its economy will continue to grow at a rapid rate, the blog has been told by people working for these companies. Similarly, as fellow blogger...
Reliance Goes Boldly
Source: ICIS By John Richardson Reliance Industries is going boldly (no split infinitives here) where nobody has gone before: It is to build a cracker, which could eventually produce 1.6m tonne/year of ethylene, based entirely on off-gas feedstock...
Cotton In Uncharted Territory
By John Richardson POLYESTER producers, and their raw-material suppliers, enjoyed a huge boost to their profitability between October 2008 and March 2011 when cotton prices increased by 468 percent from 40 cents/lb to $2.27/lb. This led to polyester...
China Polyester Chain Weakens
By Malini Hariharan The polyester chain is feeling the strain of poor Chinese demand. Weak export demand and Chinese government policy are also impacting this sector, as is the case in polyolefins. A further factor behind the problems in the polyester...
More PTA for India
By Malini Hariharan India trails far behind China in the polyester business but there is growing interest in new investments that also extends upstream to purified terephthalic acid (PTA). The latest entrant to the projects listing is Thai major Indorama...
Weak margins hit earnings
By Malini Hariharan It is the results season and numbers posted so far confirm that the last quarter has been rough with depressed demand, weak product prices and firm feedstock costs affecting earnings. Siam Cement Group's EBITDA for the chemicals...
IOC Defers PX/PTA, Proceeds With Acetic Acid, Butene-1
By Malini Hariharan The blog continues with a review of Indian projects. State-owned refinery major Indian Oil Corp (IOC) has deferred its paraxylene (PX) and purified terephthalic acid (PTA) projects at Vadodara in Gujarat state, to post 2015. "The project...
Polyester still booming
By Malini Hariharan The blog has been listening to some interesting presentations on the polyester chain at the Indian Petrochem - 2011 conference in Mumbai. The global economic slowdown does not appear to have dampened prospects for polyester demand. "Demand...
PTA And PX Keep Sliding
By Malini Hariharan Asian spot prices for polyester raw materials continued to fall last week as concern on lack of buying support from the China market where concerns about the health of the global economy dampened sentiment. Purified terephthalic...
MEG bucks the trend
By Malini Hariharan There are some exceptions to the generally weak petrochemical markets seen in Asia these days and monoethylene glycol (MEG) is one such product. Spot prices have hit a 44-month high of $1,275-1,280/tonne CFR China and are expected...
Cotton corrects; will polyester follow?
By Malini Hariharan After last year's stunning rise, cotton prices have plunged 53% in the last four months from a 140-year peak of $2.15/lb on 4 March. Prices have fallen 38% in July with cotton for December delivery quoted at...
PTA Set To Suffer in 2011-14
By John Richardson THE last 18 months has been stellar for the polyester chain thanks to tight supply upstream in paraxylene (PX) and purified terephthalic acid (PTA), record-high cotton prices and a booming economy in China. But all good times must...
China Power Woes Hit Chem Output
By Malini Hariharan and John Richardson The power crisis in China, highlighted in this post last month and yesterday, has worsened and is likely to affect economic output in the second quarter. More than 10 provinces, including Zhejiang, Hunan, Anhui,...
Broad Commodities Sell-off Beckons
By John Richardson THE blog remains extremely worried that there is about to be a major sell-off of commodities in general, including petrochemicals, as conditions right now feel very similar to those in 2008. Whether we will face a...
PX/PTA prices spike as supply dries up
By Malini Hariharan The paraxylene (PX)-purified terephthalic acid (PTA) market appears to be bearing the brunt of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami. Spot supplies of PX have dried up following the shutdown of three Japanese plants with a total capacity...
PX: Still going strong
By Malini Hariharan Paraxylene (PX) markets are on a roll. Prices have risen by 20% since the beginning of the year and were assessed at around $1,620/tonne cfr Asia late last week by ICIS pricing. One contract nomination for March...
NEW EO-Derivative Investments Planned For Singapore
Source of picture: chemindustry.org.sg By John Richardson NEW plants could be built in Singapore downstream of Shell Chemicals plans for optimising high-purity ethylene oxide (EO) production in the city state, the blog was told recently...
Strong predictions for fibre intermediates
By Malini Hariharan The blog is back in action and would like to wish its readers the very best for 2011. The start of a new year is a time for forecasts. And ICIS pricing editors have been busy gauging...
Will Three Still End Up As One in Qatar?
By John Richardson SHELL Chemicals announcement that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for a cracker and derivatives project in Qatar seems to have upped the ante in what could be a struggle for only one parcel of...
A subdued end to a good year
By Malini Hariharan Petrochemical markets, with a few exceptions, will be closing the year on a quiet note. In polyolefins, buying activity in China has slowed down and sentiment remains weak weighed down by the Chinese government's decision to hike...
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