By Malini Hariharan All is not well in the Asian polyester chain. Demand has slowed down exerting a steady downward pressure on prices. Purified terephthalic acid (PTA) spot prices have dropped by $100/tonne in the last week to $1,290-1,300/tonne CFR China Main Port and the outlook for the coming months is bearish, reports ICIS news. […]
Asian Chemical Connections
China Inflation Impact On Chemicals
By John Richardson POLYETHYLENE (PE) prices were assessed stable-to-weaker by my colleagues at ICIS pricing late last week as Sinopec was reported to be evaluating a 10% reduction in operating rates. Sinopec hardly ever cuts production on market conditions as its main objective is not to make a profit, but rather serve local manufacturing industry […]
China’s Inflation Struggle
By John Richardson LIKE the boy who cried Wolf the blog might not be believed as we once again warn about the risks ahead for China’s economy. We have been worried for a long time that eventually China’s huge economic stimulus package, in response to the threat of social unrest, would cause some major problems. […]
NPRA highlights: Chevron Philips, Nova, Sabic and MEG
By Malini Hariharan The blog has been reading some more interesting reports filed by ICIS colleagues from the International Petrochemical Conference at San Antonio, US. The conference, hosted by the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association (NPRA) concluded yesterday. * Chevron Philip Chemical’s announcement of a a feasibility study on a ethane cracker at an existing […]
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 of 950,000 tonnes/year. Spot PX prices surged to a record high $1,815/tonne CFR Taiwan last […]
Japan Disaster 4 – The Impact On Paraxylene
By John Richardson ASIAN paraxylene (PX) and styrene markets look set to be the most affected by the loss of Japanese exports as the slide below from Bob Townsend at the UK-based consultancy, International eChem (Iec) illustrates. Japanese Exports.ppt My fellow blogger Paul Hodges, also of IeC has analysed the data behind the charts to […]
Japan Disaster: Immediate Petchem, Refining Impact
By John Richardson THE earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan on Friday afternoon is still hard to take in. We send our sympathy to everyone connected with this disaster and just hope and pray that the rescue efforts go exceptionally well. As Japan returns to work this morning it will confront the huge cost of […]
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 was out yesterday with JX Nippon Oil proposing a $110/tonne increase to $1,730/tonne cfr Asia. […]
Saudi Oil And Gas Supply – Anyone’s Guess
By John Richardson SAUDI Arabia’s crude-oil reserves may have been overstated by as much as 40% or 300bn barrels, according to this article on February 8 in the Guardian, based on cables between Saudi and US diplomats obtained by Wikileaks. The blog the Oil Drum used the occasion of the article to […]
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 by a senior Shell Chemicals executive. We assume that the new facilities are likely to […]
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