Asia top stories – weekly summary

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Here are some of the top stories from ICIS Asia and the Middle East for the week ended 13 July 2018.

China options limited to counter US’ proposed tariffs – analysts
China has limited options to respond to the US’ planned tariffs on as much as $500bn additional Chinese goods, and may have to resort to non-tariff countermeasures on what the Asian powerhouse deemed as “trade bullying”.

China Q3 PE imports to weaken vs Q2 on yuan slump amid trade war
China’s polyethylene (PE) imports will weaken in the third quarter due to the sharp depreciation of the yuan (CNY) amid the country’s escalating trade war with the US.

Asia benzene falls on crude rout as US-China trade war escalates
Asia’s benzene market weakened this week amid sharp falls in crude futures overnight, as global commodities markets were hit hard when the US threatened to impose tariffs on additional $200bn worth of Chinese goods.

Asia BD uptrend to be tempered by outflow of Chinese exports
Asia butadiene (BD) price uptrend may be tempered by an increasing outflow of China-origin material to the Asian spot market.

China BG market weak; ADD hikes halt flows of deep-sea cargoes
China’s butyl glycol (BG) import prices have been falling, largely unaffected by the absence of deep-sea cargoes following recent hefty increases of antidumping duties (ADDs) on US and European material.

China’s final blue sky plan could boost costs, production curbs
China’s bold anti-pollution plan fully unveiled last week will likely raise domestic costs and curb production over the next few years, according to analysts.

China MTBE under pressure as blenders cut ops for cleaner air
China’s domestic methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) prices are expected to come under downward pressure for a long term as a result of overall weak demand from gasoline blenders who have reduced production.