Asia top stories – weekly summary

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Here are the top stories from ICIS News Asia and the Middle East for the week ended 12 May 2023.

NE Asia C2 market to see more regional supply in July on cracker restarts
By Yeow Pei Lin 12-May-23 12:00 SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Northeast Asia’s ethylene market is expected to be well-supplied in July due to increased regional output, stable US exports and weak downstream demand.

INSIGHT: Opportunities and challenges for China’s polyolefins post-COVID: 3, Entering a new phase of uncertain demand
By Lucy Shuai 08-May-23 17:00 SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Social and economic activity in China is gradually recovering following removal of zero-COVID policies in late 2022 and the demand outlook is attracting worldwide attention.

Asia MEC sees bearish sentiment; shrugs off supply disruption
By Keven Zhang 10-May-23 11:33 SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Methylene chloride (MEC) prices in Asia did not see wide fluctuations despite an unplanned production cutback at Luxi Chemical’s unit in Shandong province, China, after a fatal fire and blast on 1 May.

Bearish demand outlook for China’s EPDM imports
By Ai Teng Lim 09-May-23 12:46 SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Discussions for China spot imports of ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) have taken a hit, as local end-users turned to buying cheaper cargoes from domestic supply.

NE Asia propylene slips on naphtha losses, weak post-holiday demand
By Julia Tan 08-May-23 12:02 SINGAPORE (ICIS)–The average price for spot propylene (C3) imports in northeast Asia fell in the week ending 5 May on poor demand for imports, amid a declining post-holiday domestic spot market in China.

Sluggish demand in China could weigh down melamine market in Asia
By Joson Ng 11-May-23 11:26 SINGAPORE (ICIS)–The melamine market in Asia could see sluggish demand in the Chinese market continuing, and this situation has caused buyers to enter the market at perceived low-price points. Together with subsequent reactions from producers, this has resulted in a cyclical trend in spot pricing.