Industry News
Chemical Industry News
Asia capro may cut rates amid persistent margin pressure
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Asia spot caprolactam (capro) import prices were stable in the week ended 10 June, despite declines in the Chinese domestic market, amid tepid downstream demand and weaker upstream...
East Asia and Pacific GDP growth to slow to 4.2% in 2026 – World Bank
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--The World Bank on 11 June cut its GDP growth projection for the East Asia and Pacific region to 4.2% as it warns that global growth could slow to just 1.3% if energy supply...
Plant status: Taiwan’s TPCC to keep phenol/acetone unit shut indefinitely
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Here is a plant status report: Name: Taiwan Prosperity Chemical Corp (TPCC) Location: Kaohsiung, Taiwan Product: Phenol and acetone Capacity (tonnes/year): 360,000 (phenol) and...
China’s Sinopec OX list price down CNY100/tonne on week
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--China's Sinopec list price for its domestic orthoxylene (OX) was down by Chinese yuan (CNY) 100/tonne week on week to CNY9,100/tonne EXWH (ex-warehouse). Supply remains tight in the...
Lengthening supply weighs on Asia butyl glycol markets in June
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--The price spread between China’s butyl glycol (BG) import market and southeast Asia could narrow in the near term, as supply in southeast Asia is set to lengthen heading towards...
East China acetone inventories roll over week on week
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Acetone inventories at Jiangsu ports in east China stood at 11,000 tonnes in the week ended 12 June, unchanged from the previous week, ICIS data showed on Friday. Estimated...
East China MEG inventories increase slightly on limited import arrivals
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Monoethylene glycol (MEG) inventories in east China increased slightly to 561,000 tonnes on 12 June, up by around 0.5% from 5 June, ICIS data showed, largely due to a few import...
China major producers’ polyolefin inventories fall slightly amid short supply
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--The combined polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) inventories of Chinese state-owned petrochemical giants Sinopec and PetroChina fell slightly amid short supply for some grades,...
Oil falls on optimism over US-Iran peace deal; Brent crude at below $90/bbl
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Oil prices were extending losses on Friday morning, with Brent crude trading below $90/barrel, after US President Donald Trump canceled plans to strike Iran and said a peace deal...
Plant status: S Korea’s Lotte Chem maintains glycol ethers run rate at 70% in June-July
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Here is a plant status report: Name: Lotte Chemical Location: Daesan, South Korea Product: Glycol ethers Capacity (tonnes/year): 50,000 Event start: June 2026 Event finish: July...
India PP operating rates may fall further amid higher LPG feedstock diversion
MUMBAI (ICIS)--India’s polypropylene (PP) domestic supply may witness further operating rate cuts amid tightening propylene availability caused by the diversion of propane streams toward liquefied...
Plant status: China’s Zhejiang Huahong restarts No 2 PDH plant
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Here is a plant status report: Name: Zhejiang Huahong New Materials Location: Jiaxing, Zhejiang, China Product: Propylene Capacity (tonnes/year): 450,000 (No 2) Event start: 12...
Plant status: Natgasoline methanol plant in US Texas has short outage
Name: Natgasoline Location: Beaumont, Texas, US Product: Methanol Capacity: 1.75 million tonnes/year Event start: 10 June 2026 (estimate) Event finish: 11 June 2026 (estimate) Reason: Outage...
June WASDE reveals USDA outlook for corn and soybeans mostly unchanged
HOUSTON (ICIS)--The outlook for corn and soybeans is relatively unchanged, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said in the June World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimate (WASDE) report. For...
NYMEX: US gas futures fall on bearish storage data surprise
Front-month US natural gas futures dropped on 11 June after new storage data revealed a larger-than-expected increase in stored volumes earlier in the month The July Henry Hub contract on NYMEX...
CRUDE SUMMARY: Crude benchmarks plunge after US cancels Iran strikes
Market’s reaction to overnight fighting in Middle East was subdued China’s crude inventories help relieve tight global market Trump had sugggested the US will hit Iran very hard LONDON...
Argentina’s second rating upgrade to ease path to global debt markets – analysts
SAO PAULO (ICIS)--Argentina’s sovereign credit rating was upgraded this week by US credit rating agency S&P, following on from May’s upgrade by its peer Fitch, effectively establishing B- as...
German chemical industry warns on proposed health insurance reform
LONDON (ICIS)--Proposed legislation to reform Germany’s statutory health insurance system amounts to “state-organized deindustrialization”, the country’s VCI chemical-pharmaceutical...
WEEK 24 ICIS EUROPEAN BIOMETHANE MARKETS: Dutch unsubsidized -100gCO2e/MJ bid-offer range blows out amid blending obligation uncertainty
Subscriber notice: The following content is part of a draft report that ICIS is distributing regularly for testing purposes and to gather feedback from market participants, with a view to launching...
Chemical profile: US butadiene
Uses Butadiene (BD) is a colorless, non-corrosive liquefied gas with a mild aromatic or gasoline-like odor. It is slightly soluble in water, more soluble in methanol and ethanol, and soluble in most...