Morning Briefing - 31 Jan. 2024Thin profit margins have been discouraging Asian naphtha crackers from ramping up their operating rates while deep-seas cargoes once again face shipping challenges. |
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CommoPlast
Morning Briefing
31 January 2024
Brent: $82.87 (+ $0.47)
WTI: $77.82 (+ $1.04)
Naphtha CFR Japan: $707 (- $30)
Ethylene CFR NEA: $910 (Stable)
Ethylene CFR SEA: $910 (Stable)
Propylene FOB Korea: $815 (+ $5)
Propylene CFR China: $850 (Stable)
*Data represent closing prices of the previous trading day
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Vietnamese market participants reported having received fresh PE offers for March delivery from a major local producer with a VND300,000/ton ($12/ton) increase from the previous week despite the holiday mood being rather dominant. The latest hikes mark the second consecutive week of rising offers from the producer, which is attributed to the weakening local currency and the strong upstream costs.
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In the upstream market, limited supply continued to push ethylene higher and market sources said the upswing might persist in the near term. Thin profit margins have been discouraging Asian naphtha crackers from ramping up their operating rates while deep-seas cargoes once again face shipping challenges.
Taiwan’s Formosa decided to delay the restart at its No. 3 steam cracker in Mailiao by a month to February instead of early January as initially planned. The cracker produces 1.2 million tons/year of ethylene and 600,000 tons/year of propylene.
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