Asia MEG prices soften on new supply

SINGAPORE (ICIS)– Asia monoethylene glycol (MEG) spot discussions fell for a fifth day, after prices hit a six-month high in early September, as the start-up of new plants in China weighed on market sentiment.

Spot discussions were at $460-470/tonne CFR CMP (China Main Ports) in the morning trading session.

The start-up of two new plants from Sinochem Quanzhou Petrochemical and Sinopec Zhongke Refining sidelined buyers and end-users, which prompted sellers to reduce prices to boost buying.

“New supply is coming up, so we better wait and see. No need rush to buy,” a downstream end-user said.

“Port inventories are still high, so we prefer clearing our positions before China’s National Day holiday (1-8 October) given the unclear market outlook,” a regional trader said.

Spot MEG prices closed at $470-475/tonne CFR CMP on 21 September, according to ICIS.

Photo: At a textile factory in Nantong, Jiangsu Province in east China. 15 May 2020 (Source: Xinhua/Shutterstock)

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