By John Richardson It really is unrelentingly depressing, even though we hear that a few investors in chemicals stocks are clinging-on to the hope that provided everyone maintains tight production, demand will recover very strongly in Q1 of next year. We wish they were right, but sadly they are not. Everywhere you turn it looks […]
Asian Chemical Connections
Chemicals Companies Sleepwalking Into 2012
By John Richardson CHEMICALS companies appear to be sleepwalking into a crisis as bad as 2008 because they have sacked their in-house economists and take what they want to hear from official bodies such as the Federal Reserve, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. The famous international investor, Marc Faber, recently wrote that […]
European Petchems: A Great Year For Some
By John Richardsn A brilliant seven months or a collapse in average profitability to its lowest level since end-2009 are two radically different takes on the fortunes of European petrochemicals so far this year. The description of a brilliant January-to-August was given to my colleague Nel Weddle, European olefins editor for ICIS pricing, by a […]
The Fear Factor Dominates
By John Richardson EVERYWHERE you turn it is bad as fear over the future dominates the mood of polyolefin producers and buyers. Aversion to risk seems to have increased because of the concern that this could be September 2008 all over again. Hand-to-mouth buying is the norm as no purchasing manager who values his or […]
Polyolefins At A Tipping Point
By John Richardson EUROPEAN polyolefin markets are at one of those fascinating tipping points following the recent price recovery. Ethylene spot prices rebounded late last week with July sales much better than those in June, wrote Nel Weddle, European ICIS pricing olefins editor, in this report. Propylene, however, remained under pressure because of a long market. […]
Europe Not Clutching At Straws
By John Richardson EUROPEAN ethylene and polyethylene (PE) market participants seem a million miles away from buying into the idea that the recovery in Asia is sustainable. This is a realistic view following last week’s interest rate rise in China, the fifth in eight months – and with the announcement over the weekend that inflation in June […]
European PE, PP below Euros1,000/tonne
By John Richardson JOURNALISTS are often accused of exaggeration for the sake a good story, but it is genuinely no exaggeration to say that markets are in free-fall. Last week we reported on how European polyolefin pricing was on a downward spiral. For example, my ICIS pricing colleague Stephanie Wilson wrote in this article: “We […]
European Markets Weaken Further
By John Richardson THE dreadful state of European polyolefin markets became even more evident late last week as prices continued their declines. Discussions on further reductions in European olefin contract prices were also set to begin today. High density polyethylene (HDPE) and linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) spot prices have now fallen by Euros80-150/tonne in June, […]
Ethylene And PE Markets Decline Continues
By John Richardson THE decline in Asian and European ethylene and polyethylene (PE) markets continued last week with no sign of the recovery that producers still hope will take place by end-June at the latest. Asian ethylene prices slipped by a further $60-70/tonne to $1,130-1,170/tonne FOB Korea to reach a six-month low, according to our […]
Global Polyolefins At A Tipping Point
By John Richardson A GLOBAL slowdown in manufacturing is already being reflected in European and US polyolefin markets as anxiety in the industry grows over the prospects for the rest of this year. European June contract prices for ethylene and propylene have declined after seven consecutive months of increases. Ethylene contracts have slipped by Euros45/tonne […]
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