By Malini Hariharan News of operating rate cuts is pouring in. Crackers in Japan, Taiwan and parts of southeast Asia have been running at reduced rates of 80-90% in October. But now there is also talk of rate cuts at crackers in South Korea. More importantly, a Sinopec source confirmed yesterday that the Chinese major […]
Asian Chemical Connections
Buying resumes but will it last?
By Malini Hariharan A spurt in polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) buying in China over the last few days has raised hopes among sellers that the market has bottomed out and prices should rise in the coming weeks. After hand-to-mouth buying for the last three months buyers are said to be replenishing stocks which should […]
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 acid (PTA) prices declined to a 11-month low dragged down by weak demand and falling values […]
More trouble for paraxylene ACP
By Malini Hariharan In yesterday’s post the blog made a reference to the difficulty in settling the October Asian contract price (ACP) for paraxylene (PX). Wide differences in price expectations have held up negotiations with buyers rejecting producers’ initial efforts to implement a steep $105-145/tonne hike in October contracts to $1,760-$1,800/tonne cfr Asia. Buyers, citing […]
Asia refining: tough times ahead
By Malini Hariharan The going has been good for the refining industry this year but analysts are predicting a weaker 2012 and 2013. UBS for instance, expects complex refining margin in Asia to fall 20% in 2012 from the average $8/bbl forecast for 2011. And it expects 2013 to be even weaker with average margin […]
HDPE-LLDPE spread expands
By Malini Hariharan and John Richardson The spread between high-density polyethylene (HDPE) film grade and linear-low density PE (LLDPE) prices in Asia has steadily widened over the last five months to hit a high of $110/tonne, raising questions on how long this can continue. LLDPE has been consistently cheaper than HDPE since May, a reversal […]
Economic concerns dampen EPCA meeting
By Malini Hariharan On a day when Asian stock markets tumbled on fresh worries about Europe’s debt problems and a wider economic slowdown, it was not surprising to read about the downbeat mood at this year’s European Petrochemical Association’s (EPCA) meeting in Berlin. Reports by the blog’s colleagues on ICIS news indicate that economic concerns […]
China looks for LPG
By Malini Hariharan The blog has been trying to get more information on what’s driving Chinese interest in liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)-based petrochemical projects. Plans for eight propane dehydrogenation (PDH) plants have already been announced and more could be in the pipeline as Chinese companies believe the country’s propylene deficit will expand in the coming […]
Speculation Drives China Methanol
By Malini Hariharan Methanol continues to be an exception to the general weakness seen in Asian petrochemical markets. Spot prices have crossed $410/tonne in the important China market and could remain firm for the rest of the year. Prices have risen by 11% in the last month. Chinese speculators have been driving up prices as […]
Saudi gas shortage and Iran gas price hikes
By Malini Hariharan The gas shortage in the Middle East, especially Saudi Arabia, has been well documented with the situation expected to ease in the longer term once investments in new processing plants have been completed. But in a recent report on the emerging market for LNG, Facts Global Energy (FGE) points out that more […]
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