by Paul Hodges China’s credit bubble is one of the largest the world has ever seen. This is true not only of its total size, but also in relation to GDP. The history of credit bubbles is very clear about what happens next. Anyone who has followed the US subprime lending disaster will know the […]
Asian Chemical Connections
Place Your Bets – Who Is Right?
By John Richardson DOW Chemical CEO Andrew Liveris said in a 27 July conference call that China’s industrial economy was still doing very well. “They’re managing themselves down very nicely,” he added, pointing to official GDP growth numbers of 8-9%, which translate into chemicals and plastics growth of 12-13%. “We’re not seeing any issue here […]
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 98.63 cents/lb on the Intercontinental Exchange. The swift correction in prices is based on expected […]
Sleepless in Riyadh
By Malini Hariharan CEOs of Asian petrochemical companies worried about rising feedstock costs, a weak economic outlook and profitability should have been reassured to read over the weekend that even Mohammed Al-Mady, vice-chairman and CEO of Sabic is having sleepless nights. His chief concern is keeping Sabic’s record profits at record levels. Sabic churned out […]
China’s methanol economy
By Malini Hariharan China is well set to take on an even larger role in the global methanol industry. The country already accounts for a little over 40% of demand and its share is set to expand rapidly in the coming years. The blog recently caught up with Ken Yin, the China methanol markets editor […]
China Polyolefin Prices Rally
In the second part of our analysis of the effect of China’s latest interest-rate rise we look at how the polyolefin market has alllegedly taken the decision in its stride. Crude markets are a different story altogether…. By John Richardson CHINA’S polyolefin market has improved over the last week thanks to a recovery in oil prices […]
Methanol stays strong, but for how long?
By Malini Hariharan The doom and gloom affecting many segments of the petrochemical industry has yet to reach methanol. Asian spot prices have been stable since January and have hovered in the $340-350/tonne range during the last three months. Methanol traditionally tracks crude oil prices but the product has been unaffected by the recent slide […]
PE Market Weakness Spreads To US
By Malini Hariharan After Europe, the US polyethylene (PE) market has started showing increasing signs of weakness. Spot offers have rapidly fallen putting downward pressure on June contracts that are currently under negotiation. Producers may have no choice but to settle at lower levels as exports to Asia is no longer a viable option. Spot […]
India polymers slide once again
By Malini Hariharan The messenger’s prediction has turned out to be correct. Indian polymer producers have been forced to reduce domestic prices to match levels seen in the wider Asian market. The week started with a downward revision to polypropylene (PP) prices followed by cuts in prices of low density polyethylene (LDPE), linear low density […]
Banking on gas
By Malini Hariharan Is the International Energy Agency (IEA) being extremely bullish in predicting a ‘golden age’ for natural gas over the next 25 years? In a recently released report (available here) the IEA forecasts a 55% growth in global demand to 5.1 trillion cubic metre (tcm) in 2035 driven mainly by China, India and […]
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