China's polyester markets shows downturn on high inventory levels

(news.szenergy) -- China's polyester markets, which started to show signs of a recovery last week, made a downturn once again after a three-day holiday as polyester fiber inventory levels remained high, market sources said Thursday.

As a result, the sentiment in the purified terephthalic acid and monoethylene glycol markets weakened as demand for the two key polyester feedstocks fell again.

China's polyester chain markets started to recover last week, driven by rising textile sales. According to market sources, textile sales in China hit over 6 million meter earlier last week, the highest level since the Lunar New Year holidays.

The sales/production ratio in the polyester markets also rose last week; and market sources said the ratio was at 150-200% compared with below 100% a few weeks ago.

But the sales/production ratio started to retreat from the weekend and was pegged at 50-60% this week.
MRC

(chemmonitor) -- European consumers of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) cited extreme deficiency of the product in the domestic market early in the previous month. This affected the price level. As a result, PVC values showed an upsurge.

For instance, contract prices moved up by USD 18 per tonne or 1.25 percent week on week on March 1. The product traded on a FD NWE Spot basis was evaluated EUR 5 per tonne or 6 percent higher on the same day if compared to February 29.
MRC

(chemmonitor) -- Europe acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) players witnessed complicated market dynamics through the preceding month in the region.

The spot market remained relatively quiet through the whole month with few activity glimpses. Besides, a series of price drops took place starting from the first decade of March.

For instance, ABS traded on CFR NWE basis registered considerable reduction by USD 105 per tonne or 4.4 percent week on week on March 14.

MRC

(sibur) -- SIBUR has signed contracts to insure its business assets in a joint insurance scheme with the leading Russian companies Sogaz JSC and AlfaStrakhovanie Plc.

The integrated property damage and business interruption insurance provides cover for the property owned by the companies in the SIBUR group in the event of physical damages or loss of profit caused by human error in production. The policy covers the property assets of SIBUR's gas processing plants and of Tobolsk-Neftekhim LLC, and also the expected profit of SIBUR Holding CJSC. The policy allows up to USD1.3 billion to be paid in compensation for each insurance case.

The integrated insurance policy is based in the Western market and is reinsured by companies with a credit rating of at least A-, according to Standard & Poor. This rating threshold guarantees extremely reliable insurance cover.
The policy is one of the largest taken out by Russian oil and gas and petrochemical companies, both in terms of its geographical scale and the size of the cover acquired. It will allow the company's cash flow to be stabilised, and will reduce the negative impact of potential technological risks to SIBUR's financial and economic operations.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Russian producers amid growing global demand and price quotations of oil increased the April contract prices of polyethylene by Rb1,000-2,500/tonne. Before the scheduled stops on the turnarounds the prices of LDPE rose most significantly, according to ICIS-MRC Price report.

In April, Russian producers of PE expectedly raise prices. Growing oil price quotations in the world and increased domestic demand were the main drivers of price hike. The situation in the market of LDPE was tightened by oncoming stops on the turnaround of plants in Kazan and Ufa. Nizhnekamskneftekhim and Kazanorgsintez increased the contract prices of HDPE for April by Rb1,000-1,200/tonne. Kazanorgsintez increased the contract prices of PE80. Nizhnekamskneftekhim increased the contract prices of film and pipe HDPE. By middle of this week the spot prices of film polyethylene have been settled at Rb65,000-66,500/tonne, including VAT, CPT Moscow.

This week Sibur, which controls Tomsknefehim assets, and Kazanorgsintez announced an increase in contract prices of LDPE by Rb2,000-2,500/tonne. Kazan plant is to stop its LDPE facilities on a month turnaround from April 14. In late April, Ufaorgsintez stops one of the reactors for LDPE production on two-week turnaround. The seasonal increase in demand and oncoming turnaround resulted in serious increase in the spot prices. The price quotations of 158-LDPE this week reached a Rb60,000-64,000/tonne, including VAT, CPT Moscow.


MRC