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Asian Chemical Connections

New Petchems Business Model Based On Trading Blocs

By John Richardson THE above chart should give every analyst who thinks low feedstock costs are by themselves guarantee of success in petrochemicals pause for thought: US net polyethylene (PE) exports in 2016 were 5,000 tonnes lower than in 2015, even though one would have expected exports to have been ramped-up last year. Increased exports would have helped […]

“War of Words” On Global Trade To Continue

By John Richardson WE remain in almost entirely uncharted territory despite the confidence of US stock markets. Take as an example the communique released after this weekend’s G20 meeting where traditional language about the importance of open global markets was dropped in order to keep the US happy. The wording of this joint statement was […]

China Commodity SpeculationThreatens Price Correction

By John Richardson A SMOKING gun that points to more market-distorting high levels of speculation in China’s commodity markets? Have “circular trades” have made a comeback, where one commodity is bought merely to speculate in another commodity or even in real estate? Please consider the following evidence: China’s coastal iron ore inventories  in early March […]

China Polyolefins: An Outlook For The Rest Of 2017

By John Richardson AS THE chart above shows, China is suffering from a bout a polyolefins indigestion right now as a result of a sharp rise in both imports and domestic production. This helps to explain the recent falls in pricing. This extra supply might have been very easily absorbed if markets had bounced back […]

Shift In Lending Patterns Indicate Slower 2017 China Growth

By John Richardson WE HAVE now seen two months of a very important shift in the pattern of credit growth in China: In January, new local-currency bank loans were Rmb2.13 trillion ($310bn).. This was far above December’s Rmb994bn, but there is always a big seasonal surge in lending every January. Crucially, this January’s figure was below the Rmb2.54 trillion during the […]

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