Asia top stories – weekly summary

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Here are the top stories from ICIS News Asia and the Middle East for the week ended 6 September 2024.

Strong regional currencies weigh on Asia recycling exports
The weakening of the US dollar against major currencies in Asia since August will continue to strain exports of recycled polyethylene terephthalate (R-PET), recycled polyethylene (R-PE), and recycled polypropylene (R-PP).

Asia refined glycerine market stagnates on stand-off between buyers and sellers
Asia’s refined glycerine market may likely continue to remain tepid in the near term due to a persistent stand-off between buyers and sellers.

UPDATE: Oil falls by $1/bbl, Asia petrochemical shares tumble on global growth worries
Asian petrochemical shares slumped on Wednesday as regional bourses tracked Wall Street’s rout overnight on poor data from both the US and China, with crude prices shedding more than $1/bbl in late Asian trade. At the close of trade in Tokyo, Mitsui Chemicals fell 3.07% and Sumitomo Chemical tumbled by more than 4%, with the Nikkei 225 index down 4.24% at 37,047.61.

Asian PX hits fresh year low, levels last seen in December 2022
Asian paraxylene (PX) prices hit a fresh year low, amid a lack of buyers’ confidence and overnight losses seen in upstream crude markets.

INSIGHT: China-Canada trade frictions may affect MEG trade flows
Trade frictions between China and Canada have intensified recently following the Canadian government’s decision to impose tariffs on imports of electric vehicles (EVs) as well as steel and aluminum from China starting 1 October.

INSIGHT: Qatar to emerge as PVC exporter next year when $279 million plant comes online
Qatar will become an exporter of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) as early as next year when commercial operations start at its first plant, because its 350,000 tonne/year capacity will be more than 10 times the state’s annual imports.

Asia titanium dioxide Sept key drivers to be stock levels, exchange rates
While the titanium dioxide (TiO2) spot price in Asia is likely to find support with the start of the traditional demand season in September, a large-scale revival now seems unlikely.