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 16 November 2018.

NE Asia ethylene surges on restocking activity in China
Northeast Asia’s ethylene prices rose at an accelerated pace this week, despite broad-based declines in downstream prices.

Mideast, Asia PE pipe grade outlook bearish amid steep China decline
Asia and Middle East’s polyethylene (PE) pipe grade outlook is bearish because of a general weakness in the economy, an expected slow demand in seasonal lull, and a big fall in China PE pipe grade prices.

China’s export melamine prices may rebound after recent sharp losses
China’s export melamine prices haven fallen by 11% over the last month on long supply and sluggish demand but could soon rebound on the back of tighter supply conditions in winter.

Asia SAN tumbles on weak demand, prospects bearish
Asia styrene-acrylonitrile (SAN) prices slumped amid the prevailing weak market in China with little prospects of demand picking up in the rest of the year as seasonal peak is already over.

India MLLDPE import prices stable; market re-opens to a slow start
India’s metallocene linear low density polyethylene (MLLDPE) import prices were stable amid limited trade activity – a slow start to the market’s re-opening this week after the Diwali holiday.

China SBR downtrend may continue on cheaper NR, weak demand
China’s spot styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) import prices are under downward pressure amid an oversupply of rival product, natural rubber (NR), and weak demand due to declining vehicle sales in the country.

India’s Maharashtra state setting up plastic recycling mechanism
Some of India’s largest corporate companies have signed an undertaking with India’s western Maharashtra state government to create a foolproof plastic collection and recycling system by 2021, government and industry sources said.

Asia polyols prices coming off on weak demand and upstream PO losses
Asian prices of polyether polyols are falling in the domestic yuan-denominated market in China, and in the US dollar-denominated import market in southeast Asia, under dual pressure of tepid demand and weak upstream propylene oxide (PO) values.

Asia MEG discussions hit lowest since May ’17 at below $700/tonne
Monoethylene glycol (MEG) discussions in Asia fell below $700/tonne on Tuesday amid persisting weak market sentiment over a potential economic slowdown in China, a key market for the material.

Asia MTBE snaps five weeks of losses; downward pressures remain
Asia’s methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) prices rebounded this week, riding on recent gains in Brent crude futures, but downward pressures remain due to long supply and weak downstream gasoline consumption.

Asia BD rebound driven by China arbitrage trades; demand still weak
Butadiene’s (BD) spot price rebound in Asia may be short-lived as it is driven mainly by arbitrage trades into China, rather than strong underlying demand from downstream synthetic rubber (SR) and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) markets.

Asia SM extends losses since early Oct, bearish sentiment to continue
Asia’s styrene monomer (SM) prices have hit a new low since end-May 2017 on the back of bearish import sentiment from China and ample supply, with market participants not expecting a rebound in the near future.

Asia’s toluene falls below $700/tonne, more weakness expected
Asia’s toluene prices have fallen below $700/tonne FOB Korea for the first time since April 2018 because of ongoing weak demand-supply fundamentals, with market participants expecting even more weakness leading up to the year-end.

INSIGHT: The Asia benzene struggle
Sentiment in the Asia benzene market has turned bearish from the latter part of the third quarter and there appears to be many good reasons why.