Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS)

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Here are the top stories from ICIS News Asia and the Middle East for the week ended 16 August 2024. China July industrial output growth slows; H2 outlook dims By Nurluqman Suratman 15-Aug-24 16:49 SINGAPORE (ICIS)–China's industrial output growth in July slowed to a four-month low of 5.1%, aggravating concerns about continued manufacturing slowdown, with a growing set of data suggesting the world's second-largest economy is struggling to gain momentum. Asia PBT market faces logistical challenges amid Q3 lull By Corey Chew 15-Aug-24 10:29 SINGAPORE (ICIS)–The Asia polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) market saw the Indian region being affected by logistical challenges to a larger extent compared to northeast Asia. Major S Korea producers withdraw ADD probe petition against China SM By Luffy Wu 14-Aug-24 18:45 SINGAPORE (ICIS)–South Korean producers Hanwha Total Energies and Yeochon NCC are withdrawing their request for an antidumping probe on styrene monomer (SM) imports from China, based on a petition they filed with the Korea Trade Commission on 12 August. Singapore’s 2024 key exports growth forecast trimmed on demand concerns By Nurluqman Suratman 13-Aug-24 15:30 SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Singapore's non-oil domestic exports (NODX) growth forecast for 2024 has been revised downward to 4-5%, Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG) said on 13 August. China July petrochemical index falls as demand remains sluggish By Yvonne Shi 12-Aug-24 15:55 SINGAPORE (ICIS)–The ICIS China petrochemical index dropped by 3.07% month on month to 1,241.5 in July, with acetone experiencing the largest decline due to weak downstream demand.

19-Aug-2024

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–South Korean producers Hanwha Total Energies and Yeochon NCC are withdrawing their request for an antidumping probe on styrene monomer (SM) imports from China, based on a petition they filed with the Korea Trade Commission on 12 August. The probe, which was initiated upon requests from Korean producers, has been ongoing since 9 April and was supposed to end on 8 September. This petition withdrawal by the two companies is likely to conclude the four-month ADD investigation which have triggered significant concerns of Asian market players on a potential change in intra-Asia SM trade landscape since South Korea is China’s biggest export market for SM. Expectations heightened in June that Korea will launch antidumping duties (ADDs) on China-origin SM after China extended its five-year ADDs on SM imports from three origins, including Korea. KTC had held discussions and hearings in June to determine whether Chinese SM imports are causing material damage to Korea’s domestic market. China is no longer a regular importer of Korean SM, but some market players were expecting China’s ADD extension could trigger retaliations by Korea as a political countermeasure. Korea’s probe on SM imports from China has faced strong opposition from local end-users in downstream acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) industry which rely on feedstock from China to run their plants. During the period of June 2023 to June 2024, South Korea accounted for around 74% of China's total SM exports, according to ICIS Supply and Demand Database. Although Chinese cargoes are no longer expected to be subject to Korean ADDs in near term, high logistics costs and elevated domestic spot prices in China could continue to hamper China-Korea SM talks. Some Chinese suppliers may also continue searching for alternative markets to diversify their sales portfolio. Focus article by Luffy Wu Thumbnail image: At Taicang Port in China on 12 January 2024.(Costfoto/NurPhoto/Shutterstock)

14-Aug-2024

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–South Korean producers Hanwha Total Energies and Yeochon NCC are withdrawing their request for an antidumping probe on styrene monomer (SM) imports from China, based on a petition they filed with the Korea Trade Commission on 12 August. The probe, which was initiated upon requests from Korean producers, has been ongoing since 9 April and was supposed to end on 8 September. Expectations heightened in June that Korea will launch antidumping duties (ADDs) on China-origin SM after China extended its five-year ADDs on SM imports from three origins, including Korea.

14-Aug-2024

LONDON (ICIS)–Here are some of the top stories from ICIS Europe for the week ended 9 August. Europe propylene glycol ethers market to focus on imports until year end A balanced propylene glycol ethers market in Europe is widely expected to continue for the remainder of the year with the focus to remain heavily on changes in supply. Supply changes to drive European ethanolamines market into the autumn Supply changes are expected to remain the driving force in the European ethanolamines market for the remainder of the year. Europe ACN market to see seasonal demand shift in H2 2024 Evolving geopolitics-led supply chain developments and the macroeconomic picture will dominate changes to supply and demand in the European acrylonitrile (ACN) market in H2 2024. Europe methanol run rates to remain low to counterbalance demand European methanol demand is likely to remain stable in the second half of 2024, with limited recovery in derivative markets expected. Europe chems stocks tumble amid global sell-off on US economic fears Chemical stocks in Europe slumped in early trading on Monday after a market rout in Asia following bearish US economic data at the end of last week prompted fears of a slowdown.

12-Aug-2024

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Asian shares rebounded on Tuesday, staging a relief rally after historic losses the previous day, as fresh US economic data for July alleviated recession fears. Meanwhile, oil prices surged by over $1/barrel in early Asian trade, fueled by escalating concerns about the spreading conflict in the Middle East. Japanese Nikkei 225 index jumps 9.55% in early Asian trade Asian petrochemical shares follow regional market rebound, Asahi Kasei gains China's petrochemical futures continue decline In Europe the main stock markets stabilized, opening slightly up before falling back. The UK’s FTSE 100 was down 0.08% at 11:20 London time, while Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 were 0.17% and 0.46% lower respectively. The stronger-than-expected US Institute for Supply Management (ISM) Services Survey for July helped ease growth worries. The overall services purchasing managers' index (PMI) improved to 51.4 in July, swinging into expansion and beating the consensus for a rise to 51.0 from 48.8 in June. A PMI reading above 50 indicates growth in the services sector. By 02:30 GMT, Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 was up 9.55%, South Korea's KOSPI was 3.07% higher and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose by 0.06%. Singapore's Straits Times Index (STI) was down by 0.96% while China’s benchmark Shanghai Composite Index inched 0.20% higher after shedding 1.54% on Monday. Asian petrochemical shares tracked the rebound in regional bourses, with Japanese major Asahi Kasei jumping nearly 14% and South Korean producer LG Chem up by 4.59%. China’s petrochemical futures, however, continued lower in early trade on Tuesday. At 10:30 local time (02:30 GMT), futures of petrochemical commodities, including plastics, methanol and glycols, were trading lower, after losing 0.4-2.1% in the previous session. Product Yuan (CNY)/tonne Change Linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) 8,231 -0.3% Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) 5,650 -0.5% Ethylene glycol (EG) 4,590 -0.5% Polypropylene (PP) 7,570 -0.4% Styrene monomer (SM) 9,183 -0.2% Paraxylene * 8,120 -0.9% Purified terephthalic acid (PTA)* 5,644 -0.8% Methanol* 2,468 -0.5% Sources: Dalian Commodity Exchange, *Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange The global equity market sell-off intensified on Monday, with a wave of declines sweeping across major bourses worldwide. The rout began in Asia, where the Nikkei 225 index plummeted 12.4% day on day, marking its worst performance since 1987 while the KOSPI posted its steepest decline in its closing price to date. In Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600 index fell 2.2%, with all sectors and major indexes closing in negative territory. Utilities and oil and gas stocks suffered the steepest losses, leading the downturn in European markets. In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged by about 1,000 points or down 2.6%, the Nasdaq dived 3.4% and the S&P 500 slid 3.0%. This marked the largest losses since September 2022 for the Dow and S&P, following a downturn late last week due to poor US jobs data and weak manufacturing PMI, which sparked recession fears. The unwinding of the yen "carry trade" after the Bank of Japan raised interest rates last week also added fuel to the retreat in global markets. For now, the US Federal Reserve has no intention of delivering an emergency rate cut before the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on 18 September, Singapore-based DBS Group Research said in a note on Tuesday. "The Fed wants markets to view the coming rate cuts as preserving the soft landing and supporting jobs, not as a delayed response to a weakening economy," it said. GEOPOLITICAL TENSIONS BOOSTING OILOil prices rose by more than $1/barrel in early Asian trade on Tuesday after dipping in the previous session, driven by supply concerns amid escalating tensions in the Middle East. "Markets are still waiting to see how Iran responds to Israel after it vowed retaliation for the assassination of Hamas’ political leader on Iranian soil," Dutch banking and financial information services firm ING said in a note. "Oil has been unable to escape the broader risk-off move seen across assets, as concerns grow over the potential for a US recession following some weaker macro data in recent weeks. This only adds to worries over Chinese demand." Reports that the Sharara oilfield in Libya has completely stopped production due to protests at the site also supported oil prices. This oilfield has a production capacity of 300,000 barrels/day but was producing around 270,000 barrels/day prior to the disruption. Focus article by Nurluqman Suratman Additional reporting by Fanny Zhang Thumbnail photo shows a stock market indicator board (Source: BIANCA DE MARCHI/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock) Updates, adding Europe detail in fourth paragraph

06-Aug-2024

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–SABIC has signed a potential investment agreement with the Fujian government on 1 August to build an engineering thermoplastics compounding plant in the Chinese province, the Saudi Arabia chemicals giant said on Tuesday. The planned compounding plant will be located in the Gulei Port Economic Development Zone at Zhangzhou in Fujian, it said in a statement without disclosing capacity details. It will primarily produce SABIC's pelletized LEXAN polycarbonate (PC) and CYCOLOY PC/acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) polymer blend for use in advanced materials. These materials will be tailored to the needs of industries including electrical and consumer electronics, automotive, and emerging sectors such as solar energy, electrification, and 5G. The site will include compounding lines, color development capabilities, and advanced equipment. SABIC currently operates a technology center in Shanghai and three compounding plants in China in Guangzhou, Shanghai and Chongqing. The new plant is also expected to create synergies with SABIC’s two existing joint ventures – SINOPEC SABIC Tianjin Petrochemical Co (SSTPC) and SABIC FUJIAN Petrochemicals Co (SFPC). “This investment agreement marks another significant milestone for SABIC’s growth in China and reflects our continued confidence in investing in the country," said Abdulrahman Al-Fageeh, SABIC's CEO. "Building on this, we will continue to collaborate with our existing global and local partners and customers to grow together in China.”

06-Aug-2024

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Asian shares rebounded on Tuesday, staging a relief rally after historic losses the previous day, as fresh US economic data for July alleviated recession fears. Meanwhile, oil prices surged by over $1/barrel in early Asian trade, fueled by escalating concerns about the spreading conflict in the Middle East. Japanese Nikkei 225 index jumps 9.55% in early Asian trade Asian petrochemical shares follow regional market rebound, Asahi Kasei gains China's petrochemical futures continue decline The stronger-than-expected US Institute for Supply Management (ISM) Services Survey for July helped ease growth worries. The overall services purchasing managers' index (PMI) improved to 51.4 in July, swinging into expansion and beating the consensus for a rise to 51.0 from 48.8 in June. A PMI reading above 50 indicates growth in the services sector. By 02:30 GMT, Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 was up 9.55%, South Korea's KOSPI was 3.07% higher and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose by 0.06%. Singapore's Straits Times Index (STI) was down by 0.96% while China’s benchmark Shanghai Composite Index inched 0.20% higher after shedding 1.54% on Monday. Asian petrochemical shares tracked the rebound in regional bourses, with Japanese major Asahi Kasei jumping nearly 14% and South Korean producer LG Chem up by 4.59%. China’s petrochemical futures, however, continued lower in early trade on Tuesday. At 10:30 local time (02:30 GMT), futures of petrochemical commodities, including plastics, methanol and glycols, were trading lower, after losing 0.4-2.1% in the previous session. Product Yuan (CNY)/tonne Change Linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) 8,231 -0.3% Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) 5,650 -0.5% Ethylene glycol (EG) 4,590 -0.5% Polypropylene (PP) 7,570 -0.4% Styrene monomer (SM) 9,183 -0.2% Paraxylene * 8,120 -0.9% Purified terephthalic acid (PTA)* 5,644 -0.8% Methanol* 2,468 -0.5% Sources: Dalian Commodity Exchange, *Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange The global equity market sell-off intensified on Monday, with a wave of declines sweeping across major bourses worldwide. The rout began in Asia, where the Nikkei 225 index plummeted 12.4% day on day, marking its worst performance since 1987 while the KOSPI posted its steepest decline in its closing price to date. In Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600 index fell 2.2%, with all sectors and major indexes closing in negative territory. Utilities and oil and gas stocks suffered the steepest losses, leading the downturn in European markets. In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged by about 1,000 points or down 2.6%, the Nasdaq dived 3.4% and the S&P 500 slid 3.0%. This marked the largest losses since September 2022 for the Dow and S&P, following a downturn late last week due to poor US jobs data and weak manufacturing PMI, which sparked recession fears. The unwinding of the yen "carry trade" after the Bank of Japan raised interest rates last week also added fuel to the retreat in global markets. For now, the US Federal Reserve has no intention of delivering an emergency rate cut before the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on 18 September, Singapore-based DBS Group Research said in a note on Tuesday. "The Fed wants markets to view the coming rate cuts as preserving the soft landing and supporting jobs, not as a delayed response to a weakening economy," it said. GEOPOLITICAL TENSIONS BOOSTING OILOil prices rose by more than $1/barrel in early Asian trade on Tuesday after dipping in the previous session, driven by supply concerns amid escalating tensions in the Middle East. "Markets are still waiting to see how Iran responds to Israel after it vowed retaliation for the assassination of Hamas’ political leader on Iranian soil," Dutch banking and financial information services firm ING said in a note. "Oil has been unable to escape the broader risk-off move seen across assets, as concerns grow over the potential for a US recession following some weaker macro data in recent weeks. This only adds to worries over Chinese demand." Reports that the Sharara oilfield in Libya has completely stopped production due to protests at the site also supported oil prices. This oilfield has a production capacity of 300,000 barrels/day but was producing around 270,000 barrels/day prior to the disruption. Additional reporting by Fanny Zhang Thumbnail photo shows a stock market indicator board (Source: BIANCA DE MARCHI/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock) Focus article by Nurluqman Suratman

06-Aug-2024

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Soaring Asian styrene prices have grabbed the attention of the global market following unexpected outages at European facilities. This price surge is expected to support both upstream benzene prices as well as downstream prices of expanded polystyrene (EPS), polystyrene (PS), and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS). Two styrene plant outages in Europe drive price surge upward rapidly. Benzene prices rise with styrene, boosted by August demand growth. ICIS expects EPS and PS prices to rise in August, ABS prices to remain flat due to the butadiene prices decreasing. In this podcast, ICIS senior analysts Jenny Yi and Jimmy Zhang discuss the trends and outlook for the Asian styrenic and benzene markets.

06-Aug-2024

LONDON (ICIS)–Chemical stocks in Europe slumped in early trading on Monday after a market rout in Asia following bearish US economic data at the end of last week prompted fears of a slowdown. US recession fears grew after spate of weak economic data on 2 August, showing a sputtering jobs market, an accelerating decline in manufactured goods demand and higher unemployment. The US added 114,000 new jobs in July, significantly below market expectations, while unemployment rose 0.2 percentage points the same month to 4.3%. “The bottom line is that the labor market, and by extension the economy, is slowing,” said ICIS senior economist Kevin Swift, commenting on Friday. On Friday, US Census Bureau data also showed that new US manufacturing sector orders had fallen in June for the second consecutive month, dropping 3.3% after a 0.5% decline in May. US manufacturing orders have declined since returning to growth in February, with growth falling from 1.4% that month to 0.7% in March and 0.4% in April, before dropping back into contraction territory in May. Signs of slowing US growth as well as escalating tensions in the Middle East after the death of a Hamas leader in Iran and missile fire between Israel and Lebanon, stoked economic anxiety and led to a slump of 12.4% for Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index at close. Crude benchmarks Brent and WTI were also down over $1/bbl in early trading in Europe on Monday. "Everything is about to break to pieces… except maybe gold," said a styrene distributor on Monday. The sell-off was less dramatic in Europe, with most key bourses shedding 2% of more of their value as of 12:24 BST. The UK’s FTSE 250 index and Italy’s FTSE MIB saw the sharpest falls, dropping 3.22% and 3.04% respectively in noon trading, and the STOXX Europe 50 index and Germany’s DAX suffering similar declines. US technology stocks in particular have been punished amid growing Wall Street skepticism about profitability in the growing artificial intelligence (AI) space, with Amazon closing down 8.78% on Friday and Microsoft shares down 2.07%. Markets, already volatile in the wake of Middle East tensions, a slowing eurozone recovery and the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl in the US, took fright at below-forecast employment data, but the response so far has been dramatic, according to Deutsche Bank. “Weak payrolls [have] really escalated a profound move across the globe. However the reality is that although payrolls was disappointing it's hard to know how disappointing given the distortions from Hurricane Beryl. It's like the market has added up 2+2 and made nine,” said Jim Reid, Deutche Bank’s global head of economic research. “It's easily possible we'll get the additional three and two to make up the total but we're certainly not there yet. It's hard to believe such market moves would have occurred in any other month,” he added. US GDP jumped higher than expected in Q2, increasing 2.8% compared to 1.4% in the first three months of the year, but recessionary fears loom, employment and productivity figures can be a bellwether of trouble to come. “True recessions start when “reflexivity” in the jobs market kicks in: weaker demand leads to less hiring and more firing, which feeds back into weaker demand, creating a vicious cycle that is only broken with policy support,” said analysts at Capital Dynamics in an investor note. The STOXX 600 chemicals index was trading down 1.89% as of 12:24 BST, with OCI the biggest loser with a 9.34% decline compared to Friday’s close. Arkema and LANXESS also saw substantial declines, with shares falling 4.53% and 4.56% respectively. Focus article by Tom Brown. Thumbnail photo: Outside the New York Stock Exchange. Source: Erik Pendzich/Shutterstock

05-Aug-2024

LONDON (ICIS)–Here are some of the top stories from ICIS Europe for the week ended 2 August. Freight headache distracts from Europe’s PE, PP existential crisis Europe may be insulated from ballooning global supply of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) in the second half of 2024, as spiking Asian freight costs are the latest pain point to disrupt trade flows. Balanced to tight conditions could persist for Europe BD in H2 2024 European butadiene (BD) market fundamentals are likely to remain in a balanced to tight position for much of the remainder of 2024. Europe base oils Group II/Group III expectations heavily dependent on import logistics for H2 The European Group II and Group III outlooks for the second half of 2024 center strongly on imports, with several logistical issues across the globe throwing some uncertainty onto the markets. Europe H2 ethylene, propylene won't be a repeat of H2 2023, may be better than expected The second half of 2024 is looking brighter for Europe olefins markets compared to the same periods in 2022 and 2023. No demand crashes are expected, and there are several supportive factors that could make H2 2024 better than initially anticipated. Europe PVC uncertainty continues on weak demand, new antidumping charges on imports The European polyvinyl chloride (PVC) market faces a period of uncertainty in H2 2024, compounding the difficulties in long-term outlook since the coronavirus pandemic began in 2020, and only slightly mitigated by antidumping charges for US and Egyptian imports.

05-Aug-2024