Benzene has always been the blog’s favourite indicator for the economic outlook. It has the most number of applications, due to its head-start in being a major product when coal was the main feedstock. Equally, paraxylene (PX) is an excellent indicator of demand in emerging economies, as their rise in living standards leads to greater […]
Chemicals and the Economy
China tightens lending: Saudi may pump more oil
Recent days have seen some signs that the tectonic plates under current chemical and polymer markets may be starting to shift. The most important has been the rapid rise in inter-bank lending rates in Shanghai. As the chart shows from Petromatrix, these have begun to rocket. A year ago, the rate at which banks could […]
Olefin ‘spreads’ remain volatile
Last March, the blog highlighted the major changes taking place in ethylene, propylene and butadiene prices versus naphtha. It also analysed them in ICIS Chemical Business in September. The above chart now summarises the 2010 outcome, using European prices to enable comparison over the last 30 years. It was a most remarkable year. The chart […]
Coatings companies focus on carbon footprint issues
The blog has been in the USA this week, speaking at the bi-annual Global Coatings Summit. Coatings sales are worth $75bn globally, and are a key market for chemicals. Interestingly, much of the discussion centred around sustainability. In spite of the downturn, it is clear that consumers are now very focused on carbon footprint as […]
China’s economy ends 2010 at new highs
China’s economy ended 2010 on yet another high. As the chart shows, bank lending (red column) and electricity consumption (blue line), remained very strong: • Electricity usage was up 15% in 2010 versus 2009 • Bank lending was RMB 7.9trn ($1.2trn), above the RMB 7.5trn target The change since the start of the Crisis is […]
New Normal workshop in Singapore next month
Major changes are underway in demand patterns for chemicals and polymers. They are being driven by demographics. The ‘BabyBoomers’ (those people born between 1946-70 in the major industrial countries) are the richest, and largest, generation the world has ever seen: • As they entered the 25 – 54 age group, they caused an explosion of […]
China’s December surge makes it largest auto market
December was a good month for global auto sales. China’s volume jumped to 1.3 million, as buyers rushed to capture stimulus discounts before they ended. In Beijing, many ‘brought forward’ planned 2011 purchases, in order to beat the new quota system, which aims to reduce congestion by capping 2011 sales at just 240k versus 891k […]
US oil inventories at yet another record level
US crude oil and product stocks have started the year where they finished in 2010. As the black dot on the above chart from Petromatrix shows, they are at yet another seasonal record. In terms of numbers, they are 101 million barrels above 2008 levels, and even 8 million barrels above last year. It is […]
Incoterms 2010 now in effect
Several blog readers have suggested it should highlight the arrival of Incoterms 2010, which took effect from 1 January this year. As always, since first publication in 1936, they have been produced by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). They are important, because they define the terms of delivery for chemicals, and all other traded […]
Wine price rises parallel those for crude oil
Many of the blog’s readers have been known to sample the occasional glass of wine. So it thought new research, from the IMF (International Monetary Fund), on the linkage between higher prices for fine wine and crude oil, might be of general interest. The IMF’s researchers wanted to analyse “the causes of extreme fluctuations in […]
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