Asia top stories – weekly summary

ICIS Editorial

22-Jul-2019

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Here are the top stories from ICIS News Asia and the Middle East for the week ended 19 July 2019.

China phenol/acetone suffers losses on feedstock prices, weak demand
China’s phenol/acetone producers are facing losses amid feedstock price hikes in benzene and propylene as well as reduced downstream demand.

Indonesia palm oil consumption to rise by 3m tonnes a year with B30
Indonesia’s plan to increase the mandatory biodiesel blending rate to 30% in January 2020, from 20% currently, would see domestic consumption of crude palm oil (CPO) increase by 3m tonnes per year, said Mohamad Fadhil Hasan, a board member of the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (Gapki).

SE Asia BD supply to tighten; cargo flows to northeast may dry up
Butadiene (BD) supply is expected to tighten further in southeast Asia, and possibly lead to a drying up of the region’s shipments to the northeast in the coming months.

Asia chemical outlook dims on weak Q3 demand, poor economy
Asia’s chemical market outlook is dim amid rising supply, while demand is seasonally weak in the third quarter.

Southeast Asian MA holds up despite hazy demand
Southeast Asian import prices for maleic anhydride (MA) continue to inch up, leveraging on tighter spot availabilities for support, even though demand remains structurally weak.

China PP copolymer market hurting from auto industry slump
China’s polypropylene (PP) copolymer demand is likely to stay under pressure amid bearish prospects of its biggest downstream market – the automobile industry.

Asia ADA market outlook to hinge on downstream demand
Asia’s adipic acid (ADA) market outlook will depend on downstream demand despite recent price increases.

Asia benzene pulls back on crude slump; arbitrage to US stays open
Asia’ benzene prices retreated this week after a recent upswing, weighed down by a slump in crude oil futures on rising US stockpile, while the arbitrage window to the US remains open.

Asia PVC trade remains subdued amid weak demand
Trade in Asia’s polyvinyl chloride (PVC) market is expected to remain subdued in the near term as the rainy season in Vietnam and Thailand continues to weigh on demand.

US-China trade war hits MMA, PMMA markets
Continued trade tensions between the US and China are weighing on both the methyl methacrylate (MMA) and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) markets in the US.

Singapore at risk of technical recession on weak chem exports
Singapore’s export-dominant economy is at risk of a technical recession as growth slows in tandem with weakening global trade.

China acetic acid to be driven by exports; local demand supply balanced
Chinese acetic market short term outlook will be mainly driven by exports to other regional countries especially South Asia, rather than domestic demand and supply – which is more or less balanced since mid-June.

Asia PC markets gather ground as demand improves
Asia polycarbonate (PC) markets paused for breath to stabilise, stemming consecutive weeks of declines as demand improved, even as limited fluctuations are expected ahead.

Pakistan PE, PP trades stalled by rupee plunge, economic woes
Polyolefin trades in Pakistan are being stalled by a myriad of economic challenges, with demand staying weak since the Pakistani rupee (PRs) plunged to all-time lows against the US dollar in June.

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