Asia top stories – weekly summary

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Here are the top stories from ICIS News Asia and the Middle East for the week ended 5 March 2021.

NE Asia C2 up for third week on China buying; March demand stays healthy
Ethylene (C2) spot import prices in northeast Asia advanced by 12% from the previous week to levels last seen in February 2019 on healthy restocking activities in China.

PODCAST: Asia benzene bolstered by supply issues, firm Chinese import and buoyant US sector
Asia’s benzene prices have been on an upswing since the start of the year, along with the general petrochemical complex, as an inflation bias appeared to have set into global markets.

Thailand petrochemical firms eye better ’21 amid oil-led price spikes
Thailand’s petrochemical firms are expected to generate better earnings in 2021 on the back of rising product prices, but oversupply in China and slow growth in some end-user markets in Asia could temper profitability.

Asia petchem markets bullishness set to continue amid tightening supply, high oil prices
Across the board bullishness seen in Asia’s petrochemical markets is likely to continue in the near term on tight supply in key China market ahead of its peak turnaround season, along with robust downstream demand and crude oil prices

Singapore manufacturing to continue recovery on improving external markets
Singapore’s manufacturing sector is poised to see further recovery this year as overall exports continue to grow amid an improvement in demand from its key external markets.