Asia top stories – weekly summary
ICIS Editorial
06-Aug-2018
SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Here are some of the top stories from ICIS Asia and the Middle East for the week ended 3 August 2018.
Pakistan PE/PP demand muted on political,
economic uncertainty
Polyolefin demand in Pakistan stayed muted for
the week and is likely to remain so in August
following an uncertain political and economic
environment.
India acetone set to hit all time low on
additional local supply
India’s dependence on imported acetone will
lessen and the prices may reach historical lows
once a local producer starts up in early August
amid poor monsoon demand season.
Asia ABS steady after recent decline, near term
improvement likely
Asia’s acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS)
demand remained lacklustre this week although
some sellers expect a potential improvement in
the near term.
Asia BD looks set to rise in the near term,
rebound short-lived
Asia butadiene (BD) spot prices look set to
rise in the near term but the rebound may be
short-lived due to the prevailing weak
downstream styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) and
polybutadiene rubber (PBR) markets.
NE Asia propylene may see support as Korean
supply remains tight
Northeast (NE) Asia spot propylene prices could
continue to see some support in the near term
on tight supply in South Korea.
Asia TiO2 could weaken in Q3, first time in 30
months
Asia titanium dioxide (TiO2) contract price for
the third quarter of this year look likely to
settle down, marking its first decline in 30
months though some roll-overs may also take
place.
Asia isomer xylene hits fresh multi-year high
on strong feedstock
Asia’s isomer-grade xylene (IX) breached its
highest price level since October 2014 due to
stronger downstream paraxylene (PX) market and
snug regional supply though the near term
outlook is somewhat uncertain.
SE Asia caustic soda decline stops, upside
limited due to ample supply
Southeast Asia’s liquid caustic soda price
decline since March this year has finally come
to an end but any upside will be limited as
buying sentiment remains subdued on
expectations that producers will have to
offload high inventories.
SE Asia methanol market to remain bullish amid
tight supply
Southeast Asia’s methanol players are bullish
about the market on expectations that supply
will remain tight amid robust demand in the
next few months.
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