Asia top stories – weekly summary
ICIS Editorial
11-Nov-2019
SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Here are the top stories from ICIS News Asia and the Middle East for the week ended 8 November 2019.
China ECH prices ease as buying fizzles out;
import sentiment weak
Chinese yuan-denominated discussions for
epichlorohydrin (ECH) trended down this week,
as thinning buying interest started to wear
down bullish offers.
SE Asia PME exports slow down amid seasonal
lull, gasoil gains
Southeast Asia’s palm methyl ester (PME)
biodiesel exports are expected to be slow in
the coming weeks, amid a seasonal lull in
demand and as recent gains in gasoil prices
have resulted in an unfavourable palm
oil-gasoil spread
China SBR stable on limited spot availability;
downward pressure looms
China’s styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) market
still faces downward pressure owing to weak
downstream demand and cheaper feedstock costs,
though for now it is stable because of limited
spot availability.
Asia naphtha jumps 4% on crude gains;
turnarounds to curb supply
Asia’s naphtha prices jumped by 4% on Monday,
driven by strong gains in global crude oil
futures on 1 November, with demand steady and
refinery turnarounds expected to curb supply.
SE Asia PP block copolymer prices fall below
that of homopolymer flat yarn
Copolymer block polypropylene (PP) dutiable
spot prices in southeast (SE) Asia have fallen
below that of homopolymer flat yarn for the
first time in over six years, with spreads
likely to remain negative in the near term.
Asia BDO market faces year-end lull, weak
downstream PBT demand
A steady increase in China’s production of
1,4-butanediol (BDO) since mid-October will
likely weigh on market sentiment at the end of
the year.
Singapore industry outlook remains dim after
Oct contraction
The outlook for Singapore’s manufacturing
economy remains dim after contracting again in
October but could be approaching a trough,
according to analysts.
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