Asia top stories – weekly summary

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Here are the top stories from ICIS News Asia and the Middle East for the week ended 2 February 2024:

Asia R-PE spot market mood bolstered by PE price hikes
By Arianne Perez 02-Feb-24 12:11 SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Buying appetite for recycled polyethylene (R-PE) in Asia has been significantly diminished due to inflationary pressures, along with the recent spikes in shipping costs.

Snug supply props up Asia MEG; discussions to wane as holiday nears
By Judith Wang 02-Feb-24 14:08 SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Snug supply has pushed up Asia’s monoethylene glycol (MEG) prices to the peak so far in 2024, but spot discussions are expected to wane in the coming week ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday.

Cold snap disrupts China’s chemical freight market
By Hwee Hwee Tan 01-Feb-24 13:05 SINGAPORE (ICIS)–An unusually frigid winter weather has been holding up China’s port operations, tightening tanker supply and pushing up chemical freight costs into February.

INSIGHT: Asia PX-PTA-polyester chain margins expected to remain concentrated in the upstream in 2024
By Jimmy Zhang 01-Feb-24 22:54 SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Paraxylene capacity in Asia expanded at a compounded average rate of 11.6% from 2018 to 2023, ICIS data show, However, across the PX-purified terephthalic acid (PTA)- polyester value chain margins remained focused on the upstream. That focus for profitability is expected to continue in 2024.

Asia ethylene sees headwinds amid curbed arbitrage, greater competition
By Josh Quah 31-Jan-24 12:55 SINGAPORE (ICIS)–On the surface, Asia’s ethylene (C2) markets have looked to draw strength from pre-Chinese New Year restocking.

Major producer diverts acetic acid, VAM supply to Europe from Asia
By Hwee Hwee Tan 30-Jan-24 14:19 SINGAPORE (ICIS)–A major producer has decided to prioritise exports of acetic acid and vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) to Europe as the Red Sea crisis piled delays on inbound shipments, tightening supplies in Asia through to February.

INSIGHT: NE Asia C3 braces for weak demand, SE Asia support likely in short term
By Julia Tan 29-Jan-24 13:00 SINGAPORE (ICIS)–The average weekly price for spot propylene (C3) imports in northeast Asia continued to climb last week on restocking demand ahead of the Lunar New Year holidays and on recent gains in the southeast Asian spot markets.

Asia naphtha bullish on supply crunch despite weak petrochemical margins
By Li Peng Seng 29-Jan-24 09:33 SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Asia’s naphtha prompt supplies are expected to stay tight  as unrest at the Red Sea and Black Sea regions will continue to affect supply flows.