News library
Subscribe to our full range of breaking news and analysis
Viewing 1-10 results of 57211
Crude Oil16-Aug-2024
SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Malaysia’s economy is
expected to maintain a strong growth momentum
in the second half of the year, after expanding
at a faster annualized rate of 5.9% in Q2, on
the back of improving domestic spending and
external demand.
Q2 marks fastest GDP growth in six quarters
Petroleum and chemical products led Q2
manufacturing growth
Robust demand for non-electronics goods to
boost exports
On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally adjusted
basis, the economy expanded by 2.9% in April
June, accelerating from the 1.5% expansion in
Q1 2024, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) – the
country’s central bank – said on Friday.
Q2 growth was primarily driven by stronger
domestic demand and further expansion in
exports, according to BNM.
For the whole of 2024, BNM forecasts the
economy to post a 4-5% GDP growth, stronger
than the 3.7% growth in 2023.
The final year-on-year Q2 GDP print was revised
up from the previous estimate of 5.8% and
represented a strong acceleration from the 4.2%
expansion in the preceding quarter.
At 5.9%, the Q2 GDP growth was fastest
quarterly growth recorded since Q4 2022,
according to the Department of Statistics
Malaysia showed.
Malaysia is southeast Asia’s fifth-largest
economy and a net exporter of polyolefins.
It is also one of the largest producers and
exporters of oleochemical products worldwide,
contributing about 20% to global capacity,
according to the Malaysian Petrochemicals
Association (MPA).
The country’s central bank expects household
spending to remain strong in H2, driven by
employment and wage growth and policy support.
Investments will be fueled by ongoing projects,
while exports will benefit from the global
technology upcycle and robust demand for
non-electronics goods, it said.
However, downside risks include weaker external
demand, geopolitical tensions, and lower
commodity production, BNM said.
CHEMICALS LEAD Q2 MANUFACTURING
GROWTH
The manufacturing sector registered in
April-June 2024 grew by 4.7% year on year, up
from 1.9% in the previous quarter, aided by a
broad-based improvement across all sub-sectors.
The petroleum, chemical, rubber, and plastic
products segment led the expansion, with Q2
annualized growth accelerating to 4.1% from
1.1% in Q1.
Q2 final consumption expenditure rose by 5.6%
year on year, up from 5.1% in Q1, as private
spending increased by 6.0%, up from 4.7% in Q1.
Exports for the period rose by 8.4%, outpacing
Q1’s 5.2% growth, while imports posted a faster
growth of 8.7% compared with 8.0% in Q1.
Focus article by Nurluqman
Suratman
Polyethylene16-Aug-2024
SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Click
here to see the latest blog post on Asian
Chemical Connections by John Richardson.
The world as it stands today tells us that US
doing extremely well in the key China HDPE
import market. Using trade data and ICIS price
benchmarks:
In 2023 over 2022, US sales turnover in
soared by $500m as its exports in tonnes to
China also increased. In January-June 2024 over
the same period last year, its turnover was up
by another $106m.
Meanwhile in 2023 over 2022 as their
shipments to China dipped – and because of
lower pricing – Iran’s turnover was down by
$468m, Saudi Arabia by $449m, the UAE by $412m
and South Korea by $176m.
But the January-June 2024 data show the UAE
and South Korea clawing back some ground.
“In H1 2024, US [total] PE exports were 46.5%
of total sales and operating rates above 90% –
a far cry from 21% in 2017 when operating rates
were also much lower in the mid-80% range,”
wrote my colleague Joe Chang in a15 August ICIS
news article.
This suggests that the US, because of its
feedstock advantages, gained sales turnover in
markets other than just China in H1 2024 – and
in the other grades of PE.
The comprehensive nature of ICIS price
benchmark and trade data means that it is
possible to produce charts like the ones in
today’s post for other countries and regions
such as Europe, Latin America, Africa, Turkey
and India.
But this familiar world of trade flows driven
by feedstock costs is rapidly changing.
If the US-China geopolitical split continues,
this raises the question of where China will in
future source most of its chemicals import
volumes.
Demographics will also shape demand, and so
trade flows, in China and elsewhere.
A later blog post will discuss demographic
analysis which suggests that China’s population
in 2020 could have been 130-250m lower than the
1.42bn official number. This would
obviously have major implications for historic
and future chemicals demand in China.
But perhaps China’s cap on refinery capacity
from 2028 onwards, due to the electrification
of vehicles, will limit its capacity growth,
thereby creating a bigger opportunity for
exporters.
Geopolitics, demographics, debts and
sustainability will, I believe, be the new
defining shapers of chemicals and polymers
trade flows. The world as it stands today,
represented by most of the analysis in today’s
post, is coming to an end.
Editor’s note: This blog post is an opinion
piece. The views expressed are those of the
author, and do not necessarily represent those
of ICIS.
Ammonia15-Aug-2024
TORONTO (ICIS)–Chemtrade Logistics hopes that
a freight rail disruption in Canada, should it
occur, will be short, the top executives of the
Toronto-based industrial chemicals producer
said in a webcast earnings call on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the country’s federal labor minister
rejected a call for binding arbitration to
settle the rail labor dispute that has been
looming over Canada’s chemicals and other
industries for months now.
Canada’s two major railroads – Canadian Pacific
Kansas City (CPKC) and Canadian National (CN) –
have said that they may start to lock
out workers on 22 August if no progress is
made on reaching new collective agreements.
Ahead of a potential lockout, the railroads
already started to embargo certain shipments.
While hoping that any rail disruption will be
short, Chemtrade CEO Scott Rook and CFO Rohit
Bhardwaj would not speculate how long a
disruption may last or how long the company
will be able to operate without rail services.
CHLORINE
Chemtrade is beginning to see impacts “even as
of today” as poison inhalation hazards (PIH)
materials are no longer moving on rail, Rook
noted.
The PIH issue, in particular chlorine for use
in drinking water treatment, was being
discussed at the highest level of governments
this week in both Canada and the US, Rook said,
adding that Chemtrade thinks that authorities
will consider chlorine for drinking water as
“essential”.
Chemtrade’s North Vancouver chloralkali plant
plays an important role in ensuring supplies of
liquid chlorine for use in safe drinking water
in both western Canada and the US West, Rook
stressed.
The plant produces more than 40% of all
available liquid chlorine in Canada, and
regionally it produces more than 70% of the
liquid chlorine used to treat drinking water in
Canada’s British Columbia and Alberta
provinces, he said.
A declaration of chlorine as essential,
however, would contradict last week’s ruling by the
Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) that
no essential freight rail activities needed to
be maintained in case of a rail strike or
lockout.
Canada’s chemical and other industries had
urged the tribunal to order that minimum rail
services be maintained during industrial action
to ensure the continued rail delivery of
essential goods such as fuels, food or chlorine
for water-treatment facilities. During the CIRB
process the right to a legal strike or lockout
was suspended.
CUSTOMERS STOCKED UP AHEAD OF
DISRUPTION
The market has been expecting a rail disruption
in Canada for several months and customers
therefore raised their inventories in
anticipation of a disruption, the executives
said.
The volumes customers brought forward
contributed “a meaningful number” to
Chemtrade’s stronger than expected Q2 results,
CFO Bhardwaj said.
The company raised its guidance for 2024
full-year adjusted earnings before interest,
tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) to
Canadian dollar (C$) 430-460 million
(US$314-336 million), from previous guidance of
C$395-435 million.
The new guidance assumes no rail disruption at
its upper point but some disruption at the mid-
and lower points, Bhardwaj said.
Even if there is no strike or lockout, the
looming industrial action is causing
disruptions in supply chains as companies need
to prepare, he added.
Canadian chemical producers rely on rail to
ship more than 70% of their product, with some
exclusively using rail, while in the fertilizer
industry about 75% of all fertilizers produced
and used in Canada is moved by rail.
The following table by the American Association
of Railroads (AAR) shows Canadian freight rail
traffic, including chemicals, for the week
ended 10 August and the first 32 weeks of 2024:
In recent earnings calls, midstream energy
firms Pembina and Keyera, as well as
fertilizer major Nutrien and others
raised the looming rail disruption as a
concern, and railroad CN reduced its 2024
earnings guidance, citing the impact of the
labor uncertainty.
MINISTER DECLINES TO
INTERVENE
Meanwhile, Canada’s Federal Labor Minister
Steven MacKinnon said on Thursday that he will
not accede to a request by CN to intervene and
refer the dispute to the CIRB for binding
arbitration.
“The Government firmly believes in the
collective bargaining process and trusts that
mutually beneficial agreements are within reach
at the bargaining table,” the minister said.
(US$1 = C$1.37)
With additional reporting by Adam
Yanelli
Thumbnail photo source: Chemtrade
Logistics
Global News + ICIS Chemical Business (ICB)
See the full picture, with unlimited access to ICIS chemicals news across all markets and regions, plus ICB, the industry-leading magazine for the chemicals industry.
Ethylene15-Aug-2024
HOUSTON (ICIS)–Prices for ethane, the
predominant US feedstock used to make ethylene,
have fallen this month to levels not seen since
the pandemic, and they will likely remain
depressed until colder weather arrives later in
the year.
Since
falling below 12 cents/gal, ethane prices
have risen by a few cents as some crackers
have restarted.
If another hurricane disrupts US exports of
LNG, ethane prices could decline further with
domestic natural gas prices.
US ethane supplies should continue growing
because of rising oil production.
INEXPENSIVE ETHANE SUPPORTS ELEVATED PE
MARGINSAt the least, low ethane
costs will help US polyethylene (PE) producers
maintain operating rates at profitable levels
regardless of the strength of demand.
US ethylene producers enjoy a cost advantage
because they predominantly rely on ethane as a
feedstock, and its price tends to rise and fall
with that for natural gas. Much of the world
relies on oil-based naphtha, which is usually
more expensive.
From a purely cost perspective, lower ethane
costs allowed for integrated PE margins to
increase in July, and margins may rise again in
August on further reductions in integrated
costs, said Harrison Jacoby, director of PE for
ICIS.
Because of the cost advantage of US producers,
they have been able to maintain exports despite
the global glut of PE.
Recently, PE exports from the US need to make
up 45% of total sales for domestic producers to
maintain operating rates of 90%, as domestic
demand has been essentially flat for many
years, Jacoby said. Inexpensive feedstock
allows them to be competitive in virtually
every market globally, supporting high
operating rates.
ANOTHER HURRICANE COULD LOWER ETHANE
PRICESOne of the reasons why
ethane prices fell so sharply is because
Freeport LNG Development shut down its LNG
operations in Freeport, Texas, because of
Hurricane Beryl.
The site is a key LNG export terminal in the
US, and
the shutdown of its operations back up
natural gas supply, which depressed prices for
domestic natural gas and ethane.
The same scenario could repeat itself if
another hurricane shuts down one of the LNG
terminals on the coasts of Texas or Louisiana.
Hurricane season does not peak until later in
August and September, and meteorologists are
expecting an active year.
If a hurricane shuts down a cracker, that would
reduce ethane demand, further depressing
prices.
WEST TEXAS GAS PRICES HOVER AROUND
ZEROAnother factor depressing
ethane prices is excess natural gas at the Waha
hub in west Texas.
The oil wells in west Texas also produce a lot
of natural gas, and their output can overwhelm
the pipeline capacity to ship it out of the
region. Because of insufficient pipeline
capacity, gas prices at the Waha hub have
frequently fallen below zero.
Ethane is extracted from raw natural gas. If
any ethane remains in the gas stream, it is
sold as fuel. If that happens at Waha, then
producers would be paying a counterparty to
market their supply.
To avoid this, companies have been extracting
as much ethane as possible.
Ethane extraction also frees up space in the
pipelines in west Texas, allowing them to take
away more natural gas out of the region.
ETHANE PRICES MAY RISE LATER IN THE
YEARWaha prices will likely
continue to hover around zero until the new
Matterhorn Express pipeline
starts up later this year.
The Matterhorn pipeline will allow more natural
gas to be shipped out of west Texas. This will
allow gas prices at Waha to climb, which boosts
ethane’s value to fuel in the region, a factor
that could raise prices.
As the year progresses, colder temperatures
should increase demand for natural gas. That
should raise gas prices, which would also push
ethane prices higher.
The ICIS forecast for ethane reflects this. It
shows ethane prices rising as the year
progresses.
NEW PIPELINE TO TAKE AWAY MORE GAS FROM
PERMIANThe midstream industry is
already planning another pipeline to take away
additional natural gas out of the west Texas.
Targa, WhiteWater, MPLX and Enbridge have made
a final investment decision (FID) to build the
Blackcomb Pipeline, which will ship up to 2.5
billion cubic feet/day of natural gas from the
Permian Basin in west Texas to the Agua Dulce
area in south Texas. Operations should start in
the second half of 2026.
NEW MIDSTREAM PROJECTS TO RAISE ETHANE
SUPPLIESThe new Blackcomb
pipeline is the latest new project announced by
midstream companies.
They are continuing to build new natural gas
processing plants. These plants remove
impurities and natural gas liquids (NGLs) from
raw natural gas.
The processed gas is then ready to be burned as
fuel or exported as LNG.
The NGLs are sent to fractionators, which
separate the individual components into purity
products like ethane and propane.
The following table shows fractionators that
were started up or that are being developed.
Company
Project
Type
Capacity
Units
Location
Startup
Energy Transfer
Frac IX
Fractionator
165,000
bbl/day
Mont Belvieu
Q4 26
Enterprise
Fractionator 14
Fractionator
195,000
bbl/day
Mont Belvieu
H2 2025
Gulf Coast Fractionators JV *
GCF Fractionator
Fractionator
135,000
bbl/day
Mont Belvieu
Q3 24
ONEOK
MB-6 Fractionator
Fractionator
125,000
bbl/day
Mont Belvieu
year end 24
Targa
Train 9 Fractionator
Fractionator
120,000
bbl/day
Mont Belvieu
in service
Targa
Train 10 Fractionator
Fractionator
120,000
bbl/day
Mont Belvieu
Q1 25
Targa
Train 11 Fractionator
Fractionator
150,000
bbl/day
Mont Belvieu
Q3 26
* GCF is restarting after being idled in
January 2021. The JV is made up of Targa,
Phillips 66 and Devon Energy
Source: corporate announcements
The following table shows natural gas
processing plants that were started up or that
are being development.
Company
Project
Type
Capacity
Units
Location
Startup
Delek
not available
Gas Plant
110
million cubic feet/day
Delaware
H1 2025
Durango Midstream
Kings Landing, Phase I
Gas Plant
200
million cubic feet/day
Eddy County, NM
Q4 24
Durango Midstream
Kings Landing, Phase II
Gas Plant
200
million cubic feet/day
Eddy County, NM
not available
Energy Transfer
Badger
Gas Plant
200
million cubic feet/day
Delaware
mid 25
Energy Transfer
Permian processing expansions*
Gas Plant
200
million cubic feet/day
Permian
Q4 24 to Q1 25
Enterprise
Orion
Gas Plant
300
million cubic feet/day
Midland
H2 25
Enterprise
Mentone West
Gas Plant
300
million cubic feet/day
Delaware
H2 25
Enterprise
Mentone West 2
Gas Plant
300
million cubic feet/day
Delaware
H1 26
Enterprise
Mentone 3
Gas Plant
300
million cubic feet/day
Delaware
in service
Enterprise
Leonidas
Gas Plant
300
million cubic feet/day
Midland
In service
MPLX
Preakness II
Gas Plant
200
million cubic feet/day
Delaware
in service
MPLX
Secretariat
Gas Plant
200
million cubic feet/day
Delaware
H2 25
MPLX
Harmon Creek II
Gas Plant
200
million cubic feet/day
Marcellus
in service
Targa
Greenwood
Gas Plant
275
million cubic feet/day
Midland
Q4 23
Targa
Greenwood II
Gas Plant
275
million cubic feet/day
Midland
Q4 24
Targa
Wildcat II
Gas Plant
275
million cubic feet/day
Delaware
Q2 24
Targa
Roadrunner II
Gas Plant
230
million cubic feet/day
Delaware
in service
Targa
Bull Moose
Gas Plant
275
million cubic feet/day
Delaware
Q2 25
Targa
Pembrook II
Gas Plant
275
million cubic feet/day
Midland
Q4 25
Targa
Bull Moose II
Gas Plant
275
million cubic feet/day
Delaware
Q1 26
Targa
East Pembrook
Gas Plant
275
million cubic feet/day
Midland
Q3 26
* GCF is restarting after being idled in
January 2021. The JV is made up of Targa,
Phillips 66 and Devon Energy
Source: corporate announcements
Insight article by Al
Greenwood
Thumbnail shows PE pellets, which are made
with ethylene. Image by ICIS
Crude Oil15-Aug-2024
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.
H2 industrial production momentum to soften
further
July retail sales grow 2.7% year on year
Property prices extend decline despite
government measures
Official manufacturing purchasing managers’
index (PMI) remained in contraction mode for the
third month in July, while exports
weakened.
“This slowdown was foreseeable given the last
few months of weak PMI data,” said Lynn Song,
chief economist for Greater China at Dutch
banking and financial information services
provider ING.
“As export demand starts to slow and tariffs
come into effect, the momentum may moderate
further,” Song said.
In July, China’s exports rose by 7.2% year on
year, a slowdown from June’s 8.6% growth due in
part to the EU’s imposition of higher import
tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles. The new
duty ranges from 17.4% to 37.6% and took effect
on 5 July.
The July official manufacturing PMI was 49.4,
below the 50 threshold for expansion.
Industrial production has been one of the key
drivers for growth in the first half of 2024,
but momentum looks to be softening in the
second half of the year, Song said.
In July, China’s auto manufacturing expansion
slowed to 4.4% year on year, a marked decline
from the 9.0% year-to-date growth and a far cry
from the double-digit gains of previous years,
he noted.
Auto manufacturing growth has now fallen below
the overall industry growth rate for the first
time since May 2022, signaling a potential
turning point for the sector, according to
Song.
“Combined with a more challenging base effect,
we expect that policies to boost other areas of
the economy will be needed if China is to
achieve the 5% growth target for the year,” he
added.
In contrast, China’s retail sales – a gauge for
consumption – showed signs of revival last
month, growing by 2.7% year on year,
accelerating from the 2% growth in the previous
month, official data showed.
This uptick followed a series of interest rate
cuts implemented by the People’s Bank of China
(PBoC) throughout July.
The cut in central bank’s short-term seven-day
reverse repo interest rate to 1.70% was
the first rate cut since August 2023 and came
on the heels of a closed-door meeting of the
Communist Party’s Central Committee, hinting at
a coordinated effort to stimulate economic
growth.
China’s Q2 annualized GDP growth came in at
4.7%, falling short of expectations,
re-igniting concerns that the government’s
full-year growth target of around 5% may not be
met.
This has prompted renewed calls for
policymakers to implement additional stimulus
measures to boost the economy.
“The economy is on the course for a weak start
to H2,” Japan’s Nomura Global Markets Research
said in a note.
“Both the Caixin and
official manufacturing PMIs indicate a broad
slowdown in manufacturing activity, weighed on
by sluggish domestic demand, as the property
correction persists,” it said.
“We expect more meaningful policy measures
after September, when concerns over the growth
slowdown may become more elevated.”
The Chinese government has taken gradual steps
to stabilize the housing market and revitalize
consumer demand but has refrained from
launching large-scale stimulus packages.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has shifted
shifted focus towards high value-added
industrial growth to bolster China’s economy
amid a three-year property slump that has
negatively impacted household consumption and
investor confidence.
However, China’s property prices continued to
decline in July.
New home prices last month dipped 0.65% month
on month, largely unchanged from June’s 0.67%
drop, data from the NBS showed.
Secondary market prices in July also fell,
slipping by 0.80% over the same period.
“It is increasingly looking like the property
market will continue to need more policy
support to establish a bottom,” ING’s Song
noted.
Focus article by Nurluqman
Suratman
Polypropylene15-Aug-2024
SINGAPORE (ICIS)–ICIS is introducing a new
monthly domestic polypropylene (PP) block
copolymer price index for South Korea starting
from 16 August.
This spot assessment on a delivered (DEL) basis
is ICIS’ first monthly index dedicated to the
South Korean market.
The new quote will track locally traded PP
block copolymer resins with melt index (MI)
between 30 to 60 that are mainly used for
automotive applications.
The launch of the quote is motivated by calls
for more information and greater clarity on the
domestic market conditions from South Korea’s
automotive industry as local prices deviate
from export values.
Previously, market participants have been using
CFR (cost & freight) CMP (China Main Port)
and prices of upstream chemicals like
naphtha’s, as reference points for domestic
discussions.
“ICIS has developed an index that is relevant
for the South Korean domestic market,” ICIS
Asia managing editor Peh Soo Hwee said.
“This is in line with changing industry
developments as taking direction from overseas
markets such as China is no longer
fit-for-purpose given the very different
dynamics in Korea,” she said.
Polypropylene14-Aug-2024
HOUSTON (ICIS)–Weak growth in the world’s
population will slow economic growth, tighten
labor markets and likely prolong the global
glut in polyolefins, according to ICIS
analysts.
For polyethylene (PE), around 135 billion lb
(61 million tonnes) of additional PE capacity
should start up from 2019-2028, versus demand
growth of 87 billion lb during the same period,
said Harrison Jacoby, ICIS director of PE. He
made his comments at ICIS networking briefings
in Houston and New York.
The typical world-class PE plant produces 1
billion lb/year, Jacoby said. That represents
an excess of 48 PE plants.
The demand gap is similarly stark for
polypropylene (PP).
About 50 million tonnes of additional PP
capacity should start up from 2019-2028, versus
demand growth of 30 million tonnes, said Ramesh
Iyer, director of polymers Americas at ICIS.
The typical global scale plant produces 1
billion lb/year, he said. That represents an
excess of about 45 global plants.
IT COULD TAKE YEARS TO GROW OUT OF THE
GLUTWithout plant shutdowns, it
could take several years for the world to grow
out of its current supply glut.
Demographers expect the world’s population will
peak sooner and at a lower level than estimates
from five to 10 years ago, said Kevin Swift,
ICIS senior economist for global chemicals.
In about 20 countries, populations are
declining, he said. Some countries in Latin
America are tracking the demographic trends of
Europe at a lag.
In China, the biggest market for PE and PP,
weak demographics are compounding the effects
of youth unemployment, low consumer confidence
and the bust in the property market, Swift
said.
He expects actual economic growth in China to
be stagnant. Other economists typically
subtract three to five points from official
Chinese GDP statistics
“The economy is growing slowly, if it all,” he
said.
In the US, Swift warned that labor markets will
likely remain tight because of slower
population growth. He noted that for every two
Baby Boomer workers who are retiring, one
member of the Generation Z cohort will join the
labor market.
Population growth will be concentrated in
countries in the Africa, the Middle East and
southeast Asia regions, Swift said.
LOWER INFLATION RAISES PROSPECTS OF
RATE CUTSIn the US, Swift noted
some signs of improvement. One measure of
inflation,
the producer price index (PPI), came in
below expectations. Another measure,
the consumer price index (CPI) came in at
expectations.
Both readings greatly increase the likelihood
that the Federal Reserve will start lowering
its benchmark interest rate at its next meeting
in mid-September.
The expectations of a rate cut have already
started to lower mortgage rates on home loans,
which should boost sales by making housing more
affordable.
Ultimately, that will trickle down to demand
for plastics and chemicals used in house
construction and in home furniture and
appliances.
Longer term, members of the millennial
demographic cohort are reaching their prime age
to buy homes, Swift said. That, combined with
lower rates, should provide a tremendous
tailwind for the housing market for the rest of
the decade before reversing itself.
LIKELY PLANT
SHUTDOWNSAny growth in the US
will not alleviate what will likely be the need
to rationalize polyolefin capacity. The
magnitude of the global supply glut is too
large.
Some producers have already started to
rationalize higher cost PE and PP capacity, and
Jacoby and Iyer expect the trend to continue.
In the US, PE plants will remain competitive
because of their feedstock advantage, Jacoby
said.
Focus article by Al Greenwood
Thumbnail shows the construction of a
chemical plant.
Ammonia14-Aug-2024
LONDON (ICIS)–The US Department of Agriculture
(USDA) has published its World Agricultural
Supply and Demand Estimate (WASDE) report for
August.
The August report forecasts an increase in corn
and soybean production with corn at 15.1
billion bushels, up 47 million bushels from the
July report, and soybeans projected at 4.6
billion bushels, up by 154 million bushels.
Senior editors Mark Milam and Sylvia Traganida
discuss the latest estimates, and take an
in-depth look at current trends in the US
market.
Styrene14-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)
Contact us
Partnering with ICIS unlocks a vision of a future you can trust and achieve. We leverage our unrivalled network of industry experts to deliver a comprehensive market view based on independent and reliable data, insight and analytics.
Contact us to learn how we can support you as you transact today and plan for tomorrow.