Americas top stories: weekly summary

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Here are the top stories from ICIS News from the week ended 12 January:

OUTLOOK ’18: Supply crunch could keep US PET market firm amid antidumping, bankruptcy cases
Resin supply is expected to be the primary driver of the US polyethyleneterephthalate (PET) market in 2018, and the general sentiment is that pricing pressure will persist in the new year after supply uncertainty drove resin prices higher in the latter part of 2017.

IGP plans four-train methanol project for Louisiana, US
Another huge methanol project for Louisiana was announced on Monday by IGP Methanol, which plans to build four plants in Plaquemine Parish, each producing 1.8m tonnes/year.

OUTLOOK ’18: US PE oversupply could have mixed impact in Latin America
New polyethylene (PE) production coming online in the US Gulf in the first quarter of 2018 could bring oversupply of product in Latin America, but the impact on each country will be different, considering that the regional economies are on different stages of development and have different import tariffs.

Tight market pushes US spot propylene sharply higher
US propylene spot prices jumped on Wednesday as the market awaits the start-up of new capacity and the restart of a production unit.

China chemical closures send ripples around the world
China’s rigorous environmental inspections and subsequent capacity closures are causing waves across chemical supply chains globally and look set to continue through 2018.

US Group II base oil posted prices increasing
Several US Group II base oil producers announced posted price increases this week as higher crude oil prices thinned margins and fostered the price moves.

US ethane hits 13-month high on strong demand, rising natgas prices
Strong natural gas prices and spot buying ahead of expected cracker start-ups in the region led US Gulf Coast ethane prices to surge to a 13-month high.