By John Richardson THE majority of chemicals analysts have yet to wake up and smell the coffee, according to an industry observer. “South Korean stocks have come off by 15-30% since their big recovery in January, but it is only the timing rather than the overall sentiment that has changed,” said the observer. “The theory […]
Asian Chemical Connections
India demand slides for PVC and PS
By Malini Hariharan The last year has been rough for Indian polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polystyrene (PS) producers with demand for their products showing almost no growth. PVC consumption is likely to increase by only 1-2% year on year in the fiscal year ending on 31 March 2012, said S Gopal, managing director of Chemplast […]
The Planning Process Gets Harder
By John Richardson EARLIER this week we talked about the possibility that China might devalue the Yuan rather than allow it to further appreciate. We have since been told by a senior chemicals industry source that this is exactly what the Chinese government is evaluating in case the worst of possible outcomes occurs – the […]
Structural Threats To 2012 China Rebound
By John Richardson SERIOUS structural problems with China’s economy threaten another disappointing year for polymer demand following flat, or even negative, growth for many of the major synthetic resins during 2011. Last week the blog visited Singapore and held discussions with several industry players and chemicals analysts. They agreed that polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyvinyl […]
Demand Weakness Dominates
By John Richardson A CAREFUL reading of all the major ICIS pricing reports covering olefins, polyolefins, aromatics and their derivatives over the last few weeks reveals very few mentions of the phrase “peak demand season”. This time last year, the reports were full of references to the seasonal surge in production of finished goods in […]
September Will Be A Cruel Month
By John Richardson SEPTEMBER is going to be a cruel month when the West returns from the summer holiday period and the extent of damage to chemicals and polymer demand becomes more apparent. In Asia, temporary supply constraints in polyolefins, paraxylene (PX) and styrene monomer (SM) have disguised the damage. These constraints will at some point ease, leading […]
Chandra Asri stake up for sale?
By Malini Hariharan Indonesia’s sole cracker operator Chandra Asri faces yet another ownership change with Singapore’s Temasek Holding reported to be looking at divesting its stake in the company. The news report in the Wall Street Journal said several companies from Thailand, South Korea and Japan have shown interest in Temasek’s stake, including Thailand’s PTT […]
Yet another week of price corrections
By Malini Hariharan Asian petrochemical markets continue to face downward pressure on concerns about the health of the global economy. Market sentiment for most products remains poor with buyers in no rush to resume purchases. Polyolefin markets closed last week on a weak note. Prices of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and polypropylene (PP) dropped $10-40/tonne last […]
The Benzene Versus Propylene Debate
By John Richardson SHELL Chemicals put an argument forward last week that polystyrene (PS) had regained ground from polypropylene (PP) as a result of expensive propylene. And the petrochemicals major forecast a bright future for both PS and expandable polystyrene (EPS). The blog pretty much always enjoys playing the devil’s advocate and so later on […]
Butadiene – will the good times last?
By Malini Hariharan A question that every butadiene buyer has been asking for a long time is when will prices ease? There are no signs yet although buyers are threatening to cut production. Butadiene rose by more than $200/tonne last week to $3,080-3,120/tonne CFR Northeast Asia, reports my colleague Helen Yan on ICIS news. Prices […]
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