Asia top stories – weekly summary

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Here are some of the top stories from ICIS Asia and the Middle East for last week.

INTERACTIVE: Singapore Oct petchem exports up 22.9%; NODX up 20.9%
Singapore’s petrochemical exports in October rose by 22.9% year on year to Singapore dollar (S$) 1.56bn ($1.1bn), with shipments to China posting a 17.5% increase, official data showed on Friday.

Asia MEG under pressure from recent fall in energy prices
Spot monoethylene (MEG) prices in Asia are under pressure after recent declines in crude oil values and amid an increasingly bearish market sentiment in key China market.

Asia BD rebounds but surplus Chinese stocks may temper rally
Asia butadiene (BD) spot prices rebounded this week, snapping a two-month downward spiral but it is unclear whether it is sustainable because of surplus BD stocks in the Chinese domestic market.

Asia PMMA likely supported by strong MMA costs, uptick in demand
Asia’s polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) discussions are likely to be supported by strong upstream methyl methacrylate (MMA) costs and an uptick in demand in the near term, market players said on Thursday.

South China methanol hits year-to-date high, uptrend to continue
Spot methanol prices in south China are on an uptrend since late October and look set to continue rising driven by tight spot availability and stable downstream demand.

China acetic acid seen stable-to-firm on tight supply
China’s acetic acid prices are expected to be on a stable-to-firm trend for the rest of the month, backed by tight availability of spot domestic cargoes amid strong demand.

Malaysia’s PETRONAS Chemicals 2017 profit growth seen at 35-41%
PETRONAS Chemicals Group’s (PCG) full-year net profit is expected to post a strong double-digit growth to a record high, largely boosted by earnings from its fertilizer business following the start-up of the Malaysian producer’s Sabah ammonia urea (SAMUR) project in May.

Asia LER outlook bearish after recent spike; demand to weaken
Spot liquid epoxy resins (LER) prices in northeast Asia are stabilising following four weeks of uptrend, but may be weighed down in the near term as buying appetite in the key export markets of southeast Asia, Europe, the Middle East and US is expected to weaken.

Tough times loom ahead for surfactants producers
Surfactants producers in Asia and elsewhere in the world may be in tough times on account of lackluster world economic growth, global overcapacity and an increasing regulatory environment, especially in China.

Asia SBR faces downward pressure from natural rubber, BD slump
Styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) prices in Asia are facing downward pressure in the near term from continued price weakness of rival product natural rubber (NR) and slumping values of feedstock butadiene (BD).

Asia ACN snaps four-month uptrend; may soften near term
Asia’s acrylonitrile (ACN) prices fell for the first time since early July, tracking losses in the key China market, which is bracing for increased supply when a new domestic plant starts up.

China domestic PP, PE prices rebound on supply concerns
China’s domestic polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE) prices have rebounded and could rise further in the near term on concerns over an expected tightening of supply in the northern Shaanxi province.

NE Asia propylene market outlook bearish despite recent gains
Spot propylene prices in northeast Asia may remain weak as recent gains are unlikely to be sustained given expectations of longer supply in November.