John Richardson’s Asian Chemicals Connections looks at Asian and global commodity chemicals and polymer pricing trends, supply and demand, macroeconomics, energy and environmental issues.
By John Richardson IT helped immensely that as the rest of the world was shutting down, China’s factories were coming back on stream. This allowed China to corner global markets for face masks, other personal protective equipment and pharmaceuticals. What was also a big plus for China was that it already had large global stakes...
This is the first of a series of blog posts where I will examine the environmental paradigm shift and what it means for the petrochemicals industry. T...
ReadBy John Richardson EVER SINCE the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, and the last great geopolitical struggle came to an end, the petrochemicals business has b...
ReadBy John Richardson A CURSORY glance at the data from China’s Golden Week holidays, as I predicted would be the case, indicate that everything is rig...
ReadBy John Richardson AS DELEGATES take part in this year’s virtual annual European Petrochemical Association (EPCA) meeting, they need to try and get ...
ReadGuest blogger, Paul Hodges looks behind today's headlines and studies key influencers shaping the chemical industry over the next 12-18 months. He takes a closer look at oil prices, economic growth and the environment among other things, along with some light-hearted commentary along the way.
On Friday, the UK premier confirmed what many of us have expected for a long time. There is unlikely to be a trade deal with the EU27 when the UK leaves at the end of December: “We should get ready for 1 January with arrangements that are more like Australia’s – based on simple principles...
Companies have entered a new landscape where the coronavirus has accelerated major paradigm shifts, as I discuss in my latest analysis for ICIS...
ReadI spent from September 2015 onwards, during the last US Presidential election, trying to explain why Donald Trump was likely to win. As I noted afte...
ReadGovernments spent most of February/March ignoring my warnings here on the dangers posed by the Covid pandemic. Now many are moving in the opposite dir...
ReadThe chemical industry has a critical role to play in enabling the world to “build back better” after the pandemic. That is the conclusion ...
ReadICIS energy editors post their expert opinions on the major topics facing participants in the European gas, electricity, LNG and oil markets. This blog will look behind the headlines and critically analyse the impact of market developments on the industry, with some more light-hearted posts thrown in for good humour.
Spot LNG prices strengthened from mid-August to mid-September on the back of ongoing repair work in Australia and after a hurricane swept through the US, halting output from two major LNG plants. The ICIS East Asia Index (EAX) for October-delivered cargoes averaged $4.289/MMBtu, up 53% from the previous month, as the market staged a recovery...
Spot LNG prices for front-month cargoes started to climb from their previous rock-bottom levels during the four weeks from mid-July to mid-August. Hig...
ReadSo, once the Democrats conclude this week’s first ever virtual convention held by a US political party, we will finally be able stop calling Joe Bid...
ReadSpot LNG prices remain at rock-bottom levels despite major cuts to global production, especially from the US. The ICIS EAX price for spot LNG deliveri...
ReadToday marks the first day of the second half of 2020, and as I’m sure you will all agree, a lot has changed in six months. If you can all cast your ...
ReadThe ICIS Chemical connections blog delves into the chemicals and commodities behind some of the world’s biggest companies. Daniel tracks and provides analysis on 167 companies in the oil and gas, commodities, chemicals, speciality chemicals, plastics, packaging and fertilizers markets and Jeremy analyses macro and micro trends affecting the North American chemicals industry, from olefins, aromatics and solvents to general-purpose and engineered plastics.
This is the first of a series of blog posts where I will examine the environmental paradigm shift and what it means for the petrochemicals industry. This first post deals with the bottom end of the value chain, the plastic packaging business, and the pressure being exerted upward on petrochemicals producers to change how they...
This year continues to be a “slog,” a word when said aloud just reeks of 2020. I guess that would be onomatopoeia for those you who remember your ...
ReadLast week, the blog took a look at how government policies could shape a market such as that for linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE). The scenario...
ReadThere should be little doubt that government policies across the globe will play a critical role in stimulating, rebuilding and reshaping economies st...
ReadAnyone ever play whack-a-mole? The image here comes from the 1990s, a time of ill-fitting T-shirts and no smartphones, so entertainment came from game...
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