Chinese workers are on the hop…. Source of picture: advanced-fibre.com By John Richardson CHINA’S polyolefin demand in the few days of proper trading that have taken place since the Lunar New Year has been described as “horrendous” and “grim” by two traders the blog spoke to yesterday. This was confirmed by a source […]
Asian Chemical Connections
Polyolefin Producers Maintain Their Control
Source of picture: Dallhouse University, Canada By John Richardson THE incredibly smart way in which polyolefin producers have managed production since the great collapse of September 2008 continues to defy what appear to remain some very uncertain, and some cases weak, macro-economic fundamentals. As we discussed on Wednesday, China faces a significant demand-growth gap […]
Saudi Petchems Blighted By Logistics
By John Richardson ONE of the many factors behind petrochemicals supply being less than expected during 2010 has been logistics problems in Saudi Arabia. One trader we spoke to on the sidelines of last month’s Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association (GPCA) conference in Dubai told us that one particular complex was struggling to accurately complete […]
Dalian offers hope …but naphtha continues to climb
By Malini Hariharan The good news for polyolefin producers is that prices in China are inching up supported by an upward movement in the key linear low-density polyethylene (lldPE) futures contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE). The arbitrage window has opened with the Dalian contract for May at CNY12,800/tonne and spot prices at CNY11,100-11,300/tonne. […]
OPEC, China Inflation And Petchems
By John Richardson OPEC’s decision to maintain crude quotas at current levels could give the banks further ammunition to manipulate opinion that the black stuff is genuinely in tight supply. There is plenty of evidence that oil is, in fact, still pretty long – and that this bull-run is yet again about speculators talking up […]
Petchems And Tomorow’s OPEC Meeting
By John Richardson THE next OPEC meeting – which takes place in Ecuador this Saturday (11 December) – is crucial for petrochemicals for two reasons. Firstly, the crude market has turned bullish recently as a result of the early onset of winter in Europe and the growing belief that the oil-supply cushion is being reduced. […]
The Strange Story of China Rate Cuts & Emissions
By John Richardson A rumour emerged a few weeks ago that Sinopec would be required by the government to cut its operating rates in order to either or both help China achieve its 11th Five-Year Plan emissions targets and/or increase diesel production. China is attempting to hit the targets under the plan before the next […]
Chemicals And Polymer Prices Behave As We Predicted
By John Richardson AS the blog had anticipated would happen, there were sharp retreats in some chemicals and polymers pricing late last week on the steep declines in equity and crude prices. Polyethylene (PE) fell by $70-130/tonne, according to our colleagues at ICIS pricing, as the Dalian Commodity Exchange once again demonstrated that it has become […]
Reliance Reveals Major Investment Plans
By Malini Hariharan India’s Reliance Industries is evaluating investments in a number of chemicals including olefins and derivatives, acetyls, elastomers and fibre intermediates to increase its petrochemicals production from crude, a senior company executive has told the blog. “We would like to maximise petrochemical production from our refineries, swing product slate from fuel […]
Iran Remains Optimistic On Exports
Dubai crucial for Iran By Malini Hariharan The blog recently had an opportunity to talk to a few Iranian companies and was impressed by their sanguine approach to the challenges posed by the new round of sanctions. This too shall pass was the prevailing philosophy. “We have a long experience [in dealing with sanctions]; […]
Jump to page: