Chemical News
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Front-month ICE Brent crude posts slight recovery after trading below $50/b Dec 27,2018
Crude oil futures were mixed during mid-morning trade in Asia Wednesday, with front-month ICE Brent crude trading below $50/b before posting a slight recovery from that level amid mild bargain hunting. Front-month NYMEX crude, on the other hand, posted gains from Monday's settle. The February ICE Brent futures contract briefly traded below $50/b...>>>
Ninth and 10th Upper Zakum cargoes declared during Platts crude MOC process Dec 27,2018
Two cargoes of Upper Zakum were declared on the Platts Market on Close assessment process Wednesday, making them the ninth and 10th Upper Zakum cargoes for this month. A 500,000-barrel cargo of February-loading Upper Zakum crude was declared by Unipec to PetroChina, which bought its 180th February Dubai partial from the trader at $49.50/b durin...>>>
H1 outlook: Higher LMAs in Philippines, optimistic on US-China trade war Dec 27,2018
In the Asian fuel ethanol market, buyers benefited from record low prices in the US in 2018. The decrease in US prices was due to high inventory and production. Moving into 2019, the market is optimistic about US-China trade tensions easing and higher domestic production expected in Philippines and India. Meanwhile, for Grade B ethanol, two major o...>>>
H1 Outlook: Palm oil market hopes for lower stocks, rebound in prices Dec 27,2018
CPO front month futures on Bursa Malaysia hit a record low of MR1,773/mt or $424.37/mt on November 19, but rebounded in December to around MR2,101/mt, partially driven by rapidly falling Indonesian production and rising domestic prices. With the first quarter CPO futures in contango, the Asian markets expect palm prices to recover. Expectation of a...>>>
H1 Outlook: Asia watches China, SE Asia corn demand uncertain Dec 27,2018
After facing years of depressed prices, traders were finally able to profit from high corn prices in 2018. CFR North East Asia corn prices rose to an all-time high of $231.25/mt on March 12, but prices remained mostly above the $200/mt CFR level for most of 2018, based on S&P Global Platts data. The Asian 2019 corn outlook will be dominated by the ...>>>
Shell's Australian Prelude FLNG starts natural gas, condensate production Dec 27,2018
Royal Dutch Shell's Prelude FLNG facility in Australia has started production of natural gas and condensate, paving the way for the first cargoes of LNG, LPG and condensates to be shipped in coming months. Prelude FLNG will be the last of the Australian LNG megaprojects to hit the market, catering largely to Asian gas demand and making the count...>>>
Kazakhstan sees maintenance at major projects to help meet 2019 output cut target: media report Dec 27,2018
Shutdowns planned for all three major projects in the country Output to grow in Jan, Feb but drop in Mar-May: minister 2018 crude output to grow 4.7% on year to 1.813 million b/d Kazakhstan expects major maintenance work planned for its three major upstream projects in 2019 to help it to meet commitments under the OPEC-led production cut dea...>>>
Energy impacts remain limited so far as US government shutdown continues Dec 27,2018
Though key US energy data will continue to be collected and published during the partial government shutdown, oil and gas permitting in federal lands and waters and environmental enforcement could be stalled if the stalemate in Washington persists into the new year. The Energy Information Administration, the Department of Energy, and the Federal...>>>
FTC approves Texas PET plant joint venture: Indorama Dec 27,2018
The US Federal Trade Commission has approved a joint venture's acquisition of an unfinished polyethylene terephthalate and purified terephthalic acid complex in Texas, Indorama Ventures said this week. That approval allows Thailand-based Indorama Ventures, the world's largest PET producer, Mexico's Alpek and Taiwan's Far Eastern New Century to ...>>>
100 Spot Commodities Price Chart - 26/12/2018 Dec 27,2018
It was assessed by SunSirs that in the tracked 100 spot commodities,5 commodities increased in prices, 17 fell and 78 remained unchanged on 26/12/2018.The largest rises were Chloroform (1.27%),Zinc (0.96%),Phosphorus yellow (0.42%),while the largest fa...>>>
China's spot ferrovanadium offers slump to 6-month low: traders Dec 28,2018
Chinese traders have offered spot ferrovanadium at $69/kg CIF main Asian port to Asian traders Thursday, the lowest in almost six months, Japanese traders said. The spot prices have decreased by 30% from levels of around $100/kg CIF in the first week of December, and half of $140-$150/kg CIF in early November. "There are talks of offers at $60/k...>>>
Japan's Dec 16-22 oil product exports fall 25% on week to 4.02 mil barrels: PAJ Dec 28,2018
Japan's oil product exports fell 25.4% week on week to 4.02 million barrels over December 16-22 due mainly to decreased exports of gasoline, jet fuel and gasoil, according to data released Thursday by the Petroleum Association of Japan. Gasoline exports fell 36.8% week on week to 564,276 barrels in the week to December 22, while jet fuel exports...>>>
Front month middle distillate swaps slump on bearish fundamentals, weaker crude Dec 28,2018
The prompt Singapore January/February middle distillate intermonth swap extended recent declines and posted fresh year-to-date lows on Wednesday amid bearish market fundamentals and weaker crude oil futures. For gasoil, the Singapore front month January outright swap slipped to a year-to-date low of $62.90/b at the Asian close Wednesday, marking...>>>
China turns to Indonesia to quench ethanol thirst in November Dec 28,2018
Chinese ethanol imports surged to a total of 94,051 cu m in November, from 16,043 cu m in October, with both denatured and undenatured imports showing strong growth, latest customs data showed Thursday. Indonesia was the largest supplier of denatured ethanol to China in November after a hiatus of three months, with volumes reaching 59,924 cu m. ...>>>
Fujairah refined oil product stocks rise 1.5% on week, led by light distillates Dec 28,2018
Refined oil product stocks at the Port of Fujairah in the UAE rose 1.5% to 17.685 million barrels in the week to Monday, according to the Fujairah Energy Data Committee. Light distillates stocks rose 6.1% week on week to 9.877 million barrels, with inventory levels remaining close to 10 million barrels amid continued oversupply of gasoline in th...>>>
Brazil's November biofuels output remains resilient on year Dec 28,2018
Brazilian production of sugarcane-based ethanol and biodiesel remained strong in November despite the end of the harvest season, according to data released Thursday by the National Petroleum Agency, or ANP. Sugar mills produced 2.24 billion liters of ethanol in November, an increase of 2.1% from 2.19 billion liters in November 2017, reflecting 2...>>>
Saudi oil policy holds firm after government shake-up Dec 28,2018
Saudi Arabia's oil policy shows no signs of wavering after energy minister Khalid al-Falih avoided falling victim to the latest cabinet reshuffle. The shake-up saw Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz appoint former finance minister Ibrahim al-Assaf as the new foreign minister and change key national security positions but leave the oil ministry unto...>>>
Inadequate domestic ferrous scrap supply affects Colombia's steel industry Dec 28,2018
Colombia's lack of adequate local ferrous scrap is affecting the country's steel industry as it needs more material to produce steel, Colombian steel association Andi and market sources said this week. "Steel players are very concerned with the situation as the scrap market is not very clear in Colombia, and scrap dealers are choosing to export ...>>>
US weekly coal production reaches year high, totals 15.9 million st: EIA Dec 28,2018
Weekly US coal production totaled 15.9 million st in the week ended December 22, reaching the 2018 peak in weekly production unless the final week of the year tallies higher, data from the US Energy Information Administration showed Thursday. This was the largest weekly production amount since the week ended September 2, 2017 with production of ...>>>
Crude settles lower amid volatile equity session Dec 28,2018
Crude futures plunged ahead of the market settle Thursday as equity markets tested session lows in midafternoon trading. ICE February Brent settled $2.31 lower at $52.16/b and NYMEX February WTI was down $1.61/b at market close. US stock indexes, which had been trading lower throughout Thursday's session, plunged to fresh lows just ahead of the...>>>