Asia top stories – weekly summary

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Here are some of the top stories from ICIS Asia and the Middle East for the week ended 3 August 2018.

Pakistan PE/PP demand muted on political, economic uncertainty
Polyolefin demand in Pakistan stayed muted for the week and is likely to remain so in August following an uncertain political and economic environment.

India acetone set to hit all time low on additional local supply
India’s dependence on imported acetone will lessen and the prices may reach historical lows once a local producer starts up in early August amid poor monsoon demand season.

Asia ABS steady after recent decline, near term improvement likely
Asia’s acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) demand remained lacklustre this week although some sellers expect a potential improvement in the near term.

Asia BD looks set to rise in the near term, rebound short-lived
Asia butadiene (BD) spot prices look set to rise in the near term but the rebound may be short-lived due to the prevailing weak downstream styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) and polybutadiene rubber (PBR) markets.

NE Asia propylene may see support as Korean supply remains tight
Northeast (NE) Asia spot propylene prices could continue to see some support in the near term on tight supply in South Korea.

Asia TiO2 could weaken in Q3, first time in 30 months
Asia titanium dioxide (TiO2) contract price for the third quarter of this year look likely to settle down, marking its first decline in 30 months though some roll-overs may also take place.

Asia isomer xylene hits fresh multi-year high on strong feedstock
Asia’s isomer-grade xylene (IX) breached its highest price level since October 2014 due to stronger downstream paraxylene (PX) market and snug regional supply though the near term outlook is somewhat uncertain.

SE Asia caustic soda decline stops, upside limited due to ample supply
Southeast Asia’s liquid caustic soda price decline since March this year has finally come to an end but any upside will be limited as buying sentiment remains subdued on expectations that producers will have to offload high inventories.

SE Asia methanol market to remain bullish amid tight supply
Southeast Asia’s methanol players are bullish about the market on expectations that supply will remain tight amid robust demand in the next few months.