Asia top stories – weekly summary

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Here are some of the top stories from ICIS Asia and the Middle East for the week ended 27 October 2017.

Asia BD may fall further near term on China surplus stocks
Asia’s butadiene (BD) prices look set to fall further in the near term as regional supply is being bloated by China’s exports of surplus domestic volumes.

GCC PE market seen stable-to-soft on weak demand
Spot polyethylene (PE) prices in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are expected to be stable-to-soft on weak demand, despite continued bullishness in the Chinese markets.

China BPA nears eight-month high; may extend gains on tight supply
China’s domestic bisphenol A (BPA) prices have surged to near eight-month highs and look set to continue rising on the back of strong downstream demand and tight availability of spot cargoes, industry sources said.

China gasoil to stay unaffected amid November quality upgrade
China’s domestic gasoil wholesale market is likely to stay largely unaffected by the expected gasoil quality upgrade in November, as market players have been well braced for such change, industry sources said on Wednesday.

China import mixed aromatics may remain under pressure in Nov
China domestic mixed aromatics prices continue in a narrow range since the past one month on weak demand even though the Brent crude oil price firmed up and inventories remained relatively low, market source said on Wednesday.

China import PP block co-polymer grade prices seen stable
China’s import prices for polypropylene (PP) PP block co-polymer grade are expected to be stable as sufficient domestic supply can help cover the seasonal uptick in demand.

China’s domestic MOP prices to rise on decreasing supply
China’s domestic muriate of potash (MOP) prices are expected to climb in the near term on the back of tight supply, market sources said.

China MMA prices to remain firm in Q4 amid tight supply
China domestic methyl methacrylate (MMA) prices are expected to remain firm in the fourth quarter of this year amid persistent tight supply conditions, industry sources said on Tuesday.

China domestic MEG to feel pressure from mounting Q4 supply
Domestic monoethylene glycol (MEG) prices in China are expected to come under pressure from mounting supply in the fourth quarter as good production margins are encouraging producers to ramp up output.

Middle East PS spot import prices may fall on weak demand
Polystyrene (PS) spot import prices in the Middle East may fall on weak buying interest, market players said.

China domestic HDPE film prices at 2017 highs on tight supply
Spot prices of high density polyethylene (HDPE) film in China are at their highest so far this year and look set to continue rising in the near term on the back of tight supply, industry sources said.