The prices of plasticizers in Asia rose steadily towards the end of 2012, in line with firmer feedstocks.
Furthermore, the rising prices of plasticizers in the domestic Chinese markets boosted sentiment in the import markets, resulting in increased trade activity. Buying interest also strengthened on the back of restocking activity ahead of the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday.
However, several end-users said that the prevailing weak downstream demand, which was due to poor global macroeconomics, limited their buying interest. Their procurement of cargoes was thus largely done on a need-to basis to cover their immediate requirements.
Deals totalling about 20,000 tonnes of dioctyl phthalate (DOP) were heard heading towards China for January/February arrival. As a result, buying activity of imported DOP into China eased in the run-up to February.
Demand for environmentally friendly plasticizers such as dioctyl terephthalate (DOTP) and diisononyl phthalate (DINP) is expected to increase in the near term because of regulations imposed by various governments. However, several market participants were sceptical about the growth for DINP because of the lack of feedstock isononanol (INA), which resulted in higher feedstock costs for DINP producers.
Updated to mid-February 2013