Asia top stories – weekly summary

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Here are the top stories from ICIS News Asia and the Middle East for the week ended 29 July 2022.

East, south Asia ethanolamines demand to stay weak amid ample supply
Demand for ethanolamines in east and south Asia has ebbed and will likely be capped in the near term by weak economic outlook and recession fears.

S Korea’s S-Oil Q2 net income more than doubles; Q3 PX spread to weaken
S-Oil’s second-quarter net income more than doubled year on year on strong refining margins and robust aromatics demand, but the South Korean producer’s paraxylene (PX) spread is expected to weaken in July-September 2022.

OUTLOOK: Asia’s PVC spot market weighed by sluggish demand and improving supply
Lacklustre demand in Asia’s polyvinyl chloride (PVC) spot market is expected to affect sentiment, while regional spot supply is likely to remain healthy in the near term.

OUTLOOK: Asian ACN production cuts to continue, demand recovery uncertain
Asian acrylonitrile (ACN) production cuts are to continue into H2 2022, and may intensify if downstream sectors cut production further.

India’s RIL Q1 oil-to-chems earnings jump 63%; cracker rates fall to 87%
Reliance Industries Ltd’s (RIL) oil-to-chemicals net profit increased by around 63% year on year in its fiscal first quarter ending June 2022 on the back of higher oil and product prices.