Asia top stories – weekly summary

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Here are the top stories from ICIS News Asia and the Middle East for the week ended 29 March 2019.

Indian PP domestic price outlook stable ahead of April offers
The outlook for polypropylene (PP) list prices in India remains stable on largely limited supply ahead of April price announcements slated for the end of this month.

India PE domestic price outlook stable to soft ahead of April announcements
The price outlook for polyethylene (PE) list prices in India emerged stable to soft, ahead of the announcement by domestic producers on 1 April.

SE Asia methanol price premium to China widens but treads warily
While the price premium of southeast Asia methanol to China has widened after hitting a historic low in early March, the spread is likely to mire in the low double-digit levels amid subdued southeast Asian demand and a slew of facility restarts in China.

Fatigue sets in Pakistan LDPE, LLDPE markets after high March deals
Spot polyethylene (PE) market in Pakistan saw a cutback in trades for key grades, as importers moved to the sidelines following the spike in March deals.

Saudi April PP prices to firm up; slow demand to limit gains
Limited availability is likely to lend some support to April polypropylene (PP) prices in the Saudi Arabian local markets, although substantial gains may be tempered by slow demand.

GCC PE unlikely to see gains despite bullish seller outlook
The outlook for polyethylene (PE) in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) remains stable, with buyers deeming a price hike unlikely on lackluster demand and sufficient supply, even as sellers assume a stable to firm outlook.

Asian PTA production margins likely to stay healthy
Asian purified terephthalic acid (PTA) production margins are likely to remain healthy amid a balanced-to-tight supply market.

Malaysia PP domestic prices poised to firm as buying momentum picks-up
Domestic polypropylene (PP) spot prices in Malaysia look poise to firm in the near term against a backdrop of tight international supply and an up-tick in buying momentum.

China ADA halts fall on plant outage; sellers mull price hikes
Spot adipic acid (ADA) cargoes from China halted their price downtrend this week amid an unexpected shutdown of a major domestic plant, while producers are mulling hiking prices amid limited supply.

Asia PBR under pressure near term on falling BD cost
Asia’s polybutadiene rubber (PBR) spot prices are under pressure in the near term because of falling cost of feedstock butadiene (BD).

India C6 MLLDPE import prices remain firm as rupee appreciates
Southeast Asia suppliers of non-dutiable C6 metallocene linear low density polyethylene (MLLDPE) in India kept their offers firm week on week, amid lower import costs following an appreciation in the rupee, although prices might be under pressure in April as supply is expected to lengthen.

Asia fatty acid to closely follow fluctuating feedstock; upside capped
Asia fatty acid prices are expected to move more or less in tandem with fluctuations in feedstock palm oil prices with hardly upside expected in the near term.

Asia SM mixed on conflicting sentiment, weak China import market

Asia’s styrene prices could stay mixed in the following weeks leading up to mid-April on conflicting market sentiment among trading participants and overall ongoing poor demand from the Chinese import market.

China’s Shandong methanol faces downward pressure on wilted demand
China’s domestic methanol spot prices in Shandong are likely to face downward pressure for the next few weeks as a result of wilted demand.

Asia SBR to face downward pressure on weak demand; lower feedstock BD
Asia styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) prices are likely to face downward pressure because of prevailing weak demand and declining feedstock butadiene (BD) costs.

Asia benzene declines after recent surge; China demand in focus
Asia’s benzene prices weakened after a recent strong performance as market attention returned to weak Chinese demand.

Asia ABS eases after recent run-up; China buyers cautious
Asia’s acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) prices softened after a run-up over the past weeks, as spot values in the key Chinese market declined with buyers adopting a cautious stance.

China PET sales to South Africa slow down amid ongoing ADD investigation
China polyethylene terephthalate (PET) sales to South Africa have started softening partly as a result of an on-going anti-dumping investigation launched against the Chinese imports.

China’s propylene outlook mixed in April; Shandong prices to firm
The outlook on Chinese propylene market will be mixed in April, with prices in Shandong likely to rebound on improved fundamentals while east China prices could be attenuated by rising supply.

China BPA to see limited fluctuations; demand poised to falter
Asia’s bisphenol A (BPA) prices are expected to see limited fluctuations, with demand skewed towards softening, even as supply availability is snug.

China MMA prices to sustain gains in April on plant shutdowns, firm demand
China’s methyl methacrylate (MMA) prices are on an uptrend in March, and the momentum is likely to continue into April on upbeat fundamentals, as downstream demand is improving at a time of MMA plant shutdowns.

Chinese PET producers maintain higher offers, market to stay bullish
Chinese polyethylene terephthalate (PET) producers are offering May exports at high levels with participants expecting that the market will stay bullish for a while.

Weak East Med PE, PP demand dampens hopes of price hikes
Spot polyolefin demand in the East Mediterranean (East Med) markets has remained mostly weak, dampening any possibility of prices rising in April.

Asia polystyrene demand to stay buoyant amid limited supply
Asia’s polystyrene (PS) market is expected to stay bullish in the near term amid buoyant demand and tighter regional spot supply.

China LLDPE hits lowest in more than three years on oversupply
China’s domestic linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) prices have fallen to their lowest level in more than three years and may remain soft because of ample supply.

Asia ACN uptrend halts on resumed ops; market outlook still bullish
Asia acrylonitrile (ACN) price uptrend halted for a second week amid the resumed operation from Europe, but the near-term market outlook remains bullish given the heavy turnarounds in second quarter.

Southeast Asia biodiesel to stay soft on weak export demand
Spot prices of palm methyl ester (PME) biodiesel in southeast Asia are expected to remain soft on slower export demand in the coming weeks.

China eyes major clean-up after chem plant blast; death toll at 64
China is examining measures to clean up and contain chemical leaks from storage tanks damaged by the 21 March fatal blast at a plant in Yancheng that killed at least 64 people, the provincial government of Jiangsu said on Monday.

GCC TDI prices may rise for third straight week
Spot import prices of toluene di-isocyanate (TDI) in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) could rise for the third straight week as buying interest improved amid expectations that the market is on a rebound after months of declines.

East Asia plasticizers may see bearishness due to uncertainties
East Asia spot plasticizers prices could see some uncertainties for the rest of March amid lack of interest to sell or buy that could result in some bearishness in the Chinese import markets across various grades of the material.