ChemAnalyst

China’s clamor for blue skies in order to have more aesthetic appeal for the impending Winter Olympics have created clouds of uncertainty over production rates in heavy industry enterprises. This has resulted in market speculations around material availability of several key materials in the upcoming quarter. In lieu of that, prices of Benzaldehyde are expected to climb in coming months.    Winter Olympics 2022 are scheduled in early February next year. Aware of the dire environmental situation across China, authorities have been highly proactive. Ministry of Environmental protection has noted some critical areas and has been taking some stringent steps in the concerned areas. As per latest information, North China, Huaibei, and West China are the most polluted areas and need considerable transformation. There has been consistent news around preemptive operating rate cuts and plant shutdowns in heavy industries to cut emission rates and enhance overall watching experience a...

USA LPG cargo loadings shipped to Asia in August stood at 3.73 million tonnes and the volumes due for loading in September are expected to be around 4 million tonnes. The rise in the exports is triggered due to a rise in the LPG prices in Asian markets . CFR North Asia Propane was at USD 702 per tonne on August 30 which was a two week high, rising from one month lows of USD 676 per tonne on August 24. As per Energy Information Administration data, total USA Propane exports climbed 25000 barrels per day to 1.07 million barrels per day in the week ending August 20. And the exports have been above 1 million barrels per day mark for consecutive 11 weeks. The reason for price rise in Asian markets is strong demand which has remained firm in Asia due to increasing Propane demand from the startup of some new PHD plants such as Fujian Meide, Oriental Energy's Ningbo facility and Shandong Huifeng Haiyi Petrochemical. Jinneng Science and Technology is due to start up a PDH plant at Qingd...

In the Indian market, the prices of Polypropylene and Polyethylene were rolled over amid stable demand and sufficient supply. Polypropylene price in the Indian market were observed to be INR 113000/ ton for injection moulding Ex-Silvassa and INR 113240/ton for Raffia Ex-Silvassa. The LDPE prices were INR 145179/ton Liquid Packaging grade Ex Mumbai, for HDPE it is INR 110220/ton for Pipe grade Ex-Silvassa. India’s PP and PE market had stable so far and the prices continued to be capped due to oversupplies and bearish demand. However, prices were at lower as the sluggish upstream Ethylene and crude oil had impacted the polymer market in India. Major Polymer producers like Reliance Industrial Limited (RIL), IOCL, Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemical Limited had defer revisions and kept the prices stable.  The pressure on downstream Packaging producers in the domestic market to clear the stocks had solidly impacted the Plastic business. The overseas supplies had moreover decreased du...

US Polyalphaolefin prices finally turned their course to the downside in December after exhibiting a gradual increase consecutively for 3 months. As per the ChemAnalyst database, the prices for Polyalphaolefin 4cSt FOB Oklahoma and Polyalphaolefin 8cSt FOB Oklahoma in the week ending 10th December stood at USD 2995/MT and USD 2750/MT after registering a decline of 2.9% and 5.0%, respectively, from the prices assessed in the closing week of November. Despite the long-awaited relaxation in the polyalphaolefin futures, the traders are now fearing the possibility of facing the brunt of oversupply soon in the market. The polyalphaolefin prices , during the major portion of the fourth quarter, had maintained a steady and continuous growth due to both internal and external market pressures. The market was facing the wrath of skyrocketing ethylene prices riding on the back of acute tightness in the international crude oil inventories and the consequent historic highs in its prices at the glob...

On Tuesday, Natural gas prices in Europe climbed to new record levels where prices were assessed in excess of 40 MMBtu. Yamal Europe pipeline, a critical natural gas pipeline of Gazprom, reversed flow from westwards to eastwards limiting supply of natural gas to the European nations. Gazprom has clarified that the move to reverse the flow is only commercial in nature while political pundits and industry experts claimed of political undertones behind the switching of gas direction. Decline in flow rate of natural gas to Europe was first reported on Saturday (17 th December 2021) which culminated into complete stoppage on 21 st December 2021. Yamal pipeline occupies a vital cog in the European natural gas equation. Impact on Olefins and their Downstream Impact of natural gas price spike may not be only limited to energy security of Europe it is likely that prolonged periods of such robust prices of natural gas will have a bearing on downstream olefins. Ethylene and propylene which...

After remaining bullish for nearly two months in a row, Yellow Phosphorous prices are heading towards stability in Vietnam. FOB Haiphong Yellow Phosphorous (99.9% ) prices are currently hovering around $7,500 per MT for the December month. As per market players there is somewhat stagnation in the market prices from the last two months, however there are anticipations that the product pricing may decline in the upcoming months. The Vietnamese Yellow Phosphorous market has been witnessing bright prospects since Chinese authorities impended production cuts and strict power curtailment measures forced the country’s phosphorus production to reduce to half compared to the last year. In November, the price of Yellow Phosphorus in Vietnam jumped by about 70 per cent since the beginning of this year. Record high prices have been also supported by skyrocketing Chinese coal prices and tight product inventories reported by the Asian buyers. Vietnam is the world's largest exporter of phosp...

Low density Polyethylene producers in Southeast Asian countries had reduced their prices due to sufficient supply and weak demand. In Vietnam, the Film grade CFR prices were observed to be $1570/ton which was $1590/ton in the first week of December. As compared to the last week of November the LDPE prices were observed to be declined by 4.84%. If we look at the LDPE market trend for Thailand, the Film grade CFR prices were slipped to $1585/ton as compared to the first week of December which was observed to be $1605/ton. The Thailand Low density Polyethylene prices dropped down by 4.84% compared with the last week of November. The domestic Low density Polyethylene market was observed to be weak as the supply exceeds the demand which increases the inventories among the major producers in Southeast Asia. After the Thailand’s major polymer producers namely HMC Polymer and SCG’s polymer resumed their LDPE plant with improved availability, the saturation in the domestic market due to ample ...

Discussions of Caustic Potash in Europe have fluctuated in a stable to narrow range since past few months in lieu of the volatile demand in the domestic market. Despite of the extended energy crises in Europe, demand for KOH has remained dull due to the low consumption rate in various applications. However, moving into January, KOH prices are expected to rebound owing to its high demand for de-icing applications in the peak winter season. Winter season in Europe officially begins around 22 nd December.  It has been heard that at extreme winters, demand for de-icing increases steadily from at airports, public places and even at normal localities. As KOH is regarded as one of the ideal de-icing agents, the extreme winter in Europe leads to a steep surge in its demand. In line with the bullish demand fundamentals various Chlor-Alkali manufacturers tend to increase KOH prices in order to widen their profit margins. For instance, Vynova, one of the leading Chlor-Alkali manufacturers b...

Indian Pharma industry has been facing difficulties since a long time due to spiralling raw material cost. Production halts across China and high freight cost in global market have made it difficult for domestic manufacturers to procure cargoes on time and at a reasonable cost since past several months. One of the important raw material Tri Calcium Phosphate remained at a very high note during October-November timeframe, leaving downstream users anxious about profitability. Furthermore, as per ChemAnalyst data , Tri Calcium Phosphate prices shot up by around 22% within 6 weeks in India, which was highly concerning for downstream users. These circumstances arrived due to lower imports China that too at a very high price quotation. Chinese market recently witnessed several ups and downs due to highly complicated market dynamics, where raw material prices kept on fluctuating with a considerably high margin. Manufacturers in China observed strict regulations imposed by Chinese governmen...

Early December assessments show a strong volatility in the Polyethylene terephthalate market where both recycled and virgin material were termed stronger from their November price discussions. Virgin PET have increased to USD 1845 per MT DDP while r-PET (recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate) clear flake prices have increased from USD 1740 to USD 1810 in the first week of December on FOB basis. Plastic resins market has been resurgent since the slump of 2020 where prices deteriorated substantially. In lieu of that, 2021 brought much needed impetus to the polymer market where demand recovered sharply, consequently improving margins for the manufacturers in a production-deficit market . Rising inclination towards circular economy and green development in the West has pushed for recycling. Consequently, r-PET prices have been bullish for a major part of the year consolidating on strong demand from downstream recyclate industrial yarn sector, which is the largest consumption sector for ...

After a strong year for whole acrylics chain, prices of Poly Methyl Methacrylate (PMMA) show a downward trend as the year draws to a close. PMMA maintained robust pricing for a major part of the year stemming from sharp demand rise and dwindled production throughout the world due to global as well as regional factors. Domestic prices of PMMA in South Asia slumped to USD 2357-2514 per MT during initial weeks of December while South-East Asia PMMA prices dropped to USD 2290-2430 per MT. Similar trends have also been observed in the West where USA prices dipped under USD 3000 per MT on FOB basis after remarkable Q2 and Q3. Drop in prices comes from dwindling demand towards the end of the year in the backdrop of waning consumption of acrylics sheets across the world. Low demand of acrylics has also impacted MMA market, feedstock for PMMA, where despite high transportation and raw material costs, manufacturers were forced to decrease the prices of MMA. In South Asia, PMMA manufacturer...

China’s battery grade materials are rallying upwards, compelling key battery companies to transfer the prices gains to end consumers. Since the start of 2021, price of lithium battery materials has increased significantly due to multiple factors affecting the Lithium value chain. The price of battery-grade Lithium Carbonate has escalated from an average price of $9920 per ton in January to more than $31500/ton recently, showing an increase of almost 220% within a single year. The price of lithium hexafluorophosphate (LiPF6) has also jumped from $17,320/ton at the beginning of the year to $88,200/ton in the first week of December, showing an increase of almost 400% in the period. This surge in LiPF6 prices is mainly due to the soaring price of lithium ore and limited local production. To combat the rising cost pressure, several battery companies in China have started considering rising their product prices. Recently, some market players in the first-tier battery companies have noti...

Fertilizer demand in India has been soaring since prolong time, supporting the steep hike in imports as well in price trend for several fertilizers including Potassium Chloride/Muriate of Potash (MOP). As per ChemAnalyst data, MOP prices has been rising since the month of September in the domestic market due to crippling availability amid high demand fundamentals from the downstream agriculture sector. Potassium Chloride (92% purity) in India was assessed at around INR 43580/MT during November, more than 40% higher than past few months. The Indian government has been trying to enhance imports of all the major fertilizers to protect farmers profitability and control food inflation in the country. Therefore, several protective measures have been taken, like improving imports and injecting more subsidies to the agriculture sector. However, production cuts in China and anticipated high demand for Rabi crops eventually depleted the inventories of domestic manufacturers and traders. Further...

Styrene monomer prices have gained in Asia on Monday. The price hike was triggered by stronger crude values and stronger gains recorded in Benzene feedstock rates. Apart from the firm crude values and feedstock prices, the availability of the product was also limited in the region which further supported the price hike. FOB Korea Styrene prices were assessed at the USD 1045 per tonne levels which showed a gain of USD 10 per tonne from Friday’s assessed levels. CFR China Styrene prices were assessed higher at USD 1065 per tonne which also showed a rise of USD 10 from the Friday’s assessed levels. Moreover, the upstream Benzene prices on Monday were assessed at USD 880 per tonne which also showed a gain of USD 15 per tonne from the Friday’s assessed prices. with the prices picking up after a falling trend in Asia, the prices are expected to continue to rise by a factor of 5%-10% in the upcoming week owing to limited product availability and higher crude prices supported by higher benzen...

Indian Pharma industry has been enduring tremendous hike in raw material cost since prolong time. Major downstream users were heard urging government to examine this steep price escalation for several commodities. Calcium Citrate is one of the products that has encountered such steep rise in Raw material Citric Acid cost, compelling them to revise their offers to sustain margins. Coal shortage and energy related policies across China has impacted the production activities of several facilities, inducing shortage of several commodities including feedstock Citric Acid in Asia. Furthermore, “along with shortage of material, freight congestion was another factor behind the consistent rise in prices of raw material imported from China”, stated a market respondent. Indian MSME sectors was highly affected by these price hikes, as Calcium Citrate is a common raw material consumed by pharma as well as other sectors too. Festive season, especially Diwali usually increase the demand for raw mate...

As per industry source Shandong, the price of LPG was observed as $836/ton on 29 th November and $838/ton on 30 th November with the single day increment of 0.23% which was down by 9.54% compared to 1 st November. Shandong civil gas has increased the domestic prices of LPG and sharp increase of international crude oil prices gave it a boost to the market. The overall transaction atmosphere was observed as working and the manufacturers have shipped smoothly which will increase the sale price of domestic producers of China. The prices of Butane were also surged due to its application in propane dehydrogenation plant which will be used for heating purpose for upcoming winters. Any increase in the Chinese heating demand would be met by Piped Natural Gas. PetroChina will raise its gas import from Russia via the power of Serbia pipeline at the end of the 2021 LPG is a fuel gas. Liquefied petroleum gas or liquid petroleum gas – LPG – also identified as propane or butane, are flammable h...

In this week, the local producers of China decreased Acetic acid prices to $1092/ton Ex-works Qingdao compared with the price of $1133/ton with week-on-week declination of 3.75%. Compared to the previous month, it increased by 2.35%. The fall in prices was closely tied to fall in upstream Methanol futures in November. As per Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange (ZCE), the January contract for Methanol futures on 29 th Nov., closed at $419/ton, down $3/ton or 0.89% day-on-day. Downstream demand was seen weak, and consumers started purchasing on need-to basis. Main factories were operating stably while the supply was relatively sufficient. As per market players, new orders were limited, and inventory levels were higher in November. The prices of Coal in China were slipped and sale situation in coal areas had improved. The coal inventories increased and willingness to purchase is low. The quotation for traders is high and actual transactions are less. Due to ample demand and crashed price of ...

On November 2021, Cologne-based German specialty chemicals company LANXESS AG release a statement to expand its production network in China. The specialty chemicals company will build a second augmented line for Durethan-and-Pocan branded high-tech engineering plastics at its subsidiary manufacturing site in Changzhou China. An estimated investment of around USD 34 Million will escalate the production capacity by 30,000 metric tonnes per year. Together with the company’s existing facilities in Changzhou and Wuxi will bring the total compounding capacity in China to 110,000 metric tonnes per year. The new line is anticipated to go stream in the first quarter of 2023. LANXESS is a leading specialty chemicals company with sales of USD 6.91 Billion in 2020. It expanded its operations in 33 countries across the globe and the core business of LANXESS is the development, manufacturing, and marketing of chemical intermediates, additives, specialty chemicals, and plastics. The expansion caters...

Tuesday’s meeting of the USA-India Trade Policy Forum held in New Delhi witnessed the USA’s manifestation to back India in achieving 20% ethanol blending with petrol targets by 2025. The support extended by the USA will primarily involve supplying extensive volumes of bioethanol to India for fuel purposes. The meeting further marked the agreement of the two countries on formulating collaborations to push forward their respective ethanol blending programs. India’s ethanol blending target falls under the country’s strategy to endorse clean fuel alternatives that could enable it to achieve 30-35% reduced carbon emissions by 2030 in compliance with the country’s target devised under the Paris Climate Agreement. A roadmap for achieving the 20% ethanol blending target was also released by India’s prime minister in June 2021. Ethanol prices is a volatile and flammable organic liquid that is industrially produced from the catalytic hydration of ethylene derived from fossil fuels in the pet...

The prices of Ethylene were assessed lower in the Asian markets despite the firm upstream crude and naphtha rates. The reason for the price decline seems to be weaker buying trends in the region coupled with bearish downstream polyethylene demand fundamentals. CFR North-East Asia ethylene prices were assessed at USD 1120 per tonne on Wednesday which showed a drop of USD 15 per tonne from Tuesday’s assessed levels. CFR South-East Asia Ethylene prices were assessed a lower USD 1030 per tonne. On the supply side, the supply seems to be ample given that Shell’s cracker in Singapore with an ethylene production capacity of 1.15 million tonnes per year which was shut down for a maintenance turnaround in early November has come back online recently. The cracker also has a propylene production capacity of 500000 tonnes per year. Ethylene is a colourless, odourless, extremely flammable compressed gas with a faintly pleasant odour. It shows slight solubility in water and in liquid hydrocarbons...