By Malini Hariharan After last year’s stunning rise, cotton prices have plunged 53% in the last four months from a 140-year peak of $2.15/lb on 4 March. Prices have fallen 38% in July with cotton for December delivery quoted at 98.63 cents/lb on the Intercontinental Exchange. The swift correction in prices is based on expected […]
Asian Chemical Connections
Sleepless in Riyadh
By Malini Hariharan CEOs of Asian petrochemical companies worried about rising feedstock costs, a weak economic outlook and profitability should have been reassured to read over the weekend that even Mohammed Al-Mady, vice-chairman and CEO of Sabic is having sleepless nights. His chief concern is keeping Sabic’s record profits at record levels. Sabic churned out […]
China’s methanol economy
By Malini Hariharan China is well set to take on an even larger role in the global methanol industry. The country already accounts for a little over 40% of demand and its share is set to expand rapidly in the coming years. The blog recently caught up with Ken Yin, the China methanol markets editor […]
China Polyolefin Prices Rally
In the second part of our analysis of the effect of China’s latest interest-rate rise we look at how the polyolefin market has alllegedly taken the decision in its stride. Crude markets are a different story altogether…. By John Richardson CHINA’S polyolefin market has improved over the last week thanks to a recovery in oil prices […]
Methanol stays strong, but for how long?
By Malini Hariharan The doom and gloom affecting many segments of the petrochemical industry has yet to reach methanol. Asian spot prices have been stable since January and have hovered in the $340-350/tonne range during the last three months. Methanol traditionally tracks crude oil prices but the product has been unaffected by the recent slide […]
PE Market Weakness Spreads To US
By Malini Hariharan After Europe, the US polyethylene (PE) market has started showing increasing signs of weakness. Spot offers have rapidly fallen putting downward pressure on June contracts that are currently under negotiation. Producers may have no choice but to settle at lower levels as exports to Asia is no longer a viable option. Spot […]
India polymers slide once again
By Malini Hariharan The messenger’s prediction has turned out to be correct. Indian polymer producers have been forced to reduce domestic prices to match levels seen in the wider Asian market. The week started with a downward revision to polypropylene (PP) prices followed by cuts in prices of low density polyethylene (LDPE), linear low density […]
Banking on gas
By Malini Hariharan Is the International Energy Agency (IEA) being extremely bullish in predicting a ‘golden age’ for natural gas over the next 25 years? In a recently released report (available here) the IEA forecasts a 55% growth in global demand to 5.1 trillion cubic metre (tcm) in 2035 driven mainly by China, India and […]
Don’t shoot the messenger
By Malini Hariharan There is a lot of free price information and advice available to Indian polymer buyers via emails and SMSs. The gist of the messages these days is that the Chinese market is weak, international and domestic prices will fall and buying should be in limited volumes. An email that landed in the […]
Pressure builds up as manufacturing growth slows
By Malini Hariharan Government measures across Asia to ease inflationary pressure are finally yielding results. The latest economic indicators from China and India confirm a loss in manufacturing growth momentum which is likely to put further pressure on troubled polyolefin markets. In China, the official Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), from the China Federation of Logistics, […]
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