Asia top stories – weekly summary

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Here are the top stories from ICIS News Asia and the Middle East for the week ended 23 July 2021.

Uncertainty grips Asian R-PET market
As most of Asia continue to grapple with mounting COVID-19 cases, extremely tight supply of post-consumer bottles (PCB) bale feedstock casts uncertainty in the level of production for recycled polyethylene terephthalate (R-PET) flakes and pellets in the region.

Asia-to-Europe/US arbitrage MMA flows to continue in H2
Arbitrage methyl methacrylate (MMA) trade flows from Asia to the west will likely continue in the second half of the year amid global supply constraints.

OUTLOOK: Asia soap noodles H2 demand stays weak on logistics issues, virus
Asia’s soap noodles demand is expected to remain weak in the near term as players grapple with logistics issues and resurgent virus infections.

OUTLOOK: Mideast isocyanates supply tightens in H2 as oil, feedstock gain
Supply of toluene diisocyanate (TDI) and polymeric methylene diisocyanate (PMDI) to the Middle East is showing some signs of tightening in the second half as upstream oil and feedstock prices strengthen.

Asia petrochemical shares, oil prices fall amid surging COVID-19 cases
Shares of petrochemical companies in Asia slumped on Monday on growing worries over surging cases of the more transmissible Delta variant of the coronavirus, with oil prices falling by more than $1/bbl after OPEC and its allies agreed to increase supply.