Just two weeks ago, the question was whether the renewed war premium in crude oil could finally put a floor under polymer markets after months of relentless declines. Brent crude extended its rally far beyond expectations, climbing from the mid-$80s/bbl in H1 July to briefly settle above $100/bbl on July 23 as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East intensified. This visibly shifted the sentiment upwards in Asia including China, Southeast Asia and India as well in Türkiye and Egypt while the slump slowed down in Europe...
Europe’s long-running ethylene cartel dispute has returned to the spotlight after Dow Europe filed a €1.1 billion damages claim against four companies accused of manipulating Europe’s ethylene benchmark price. The lawsuit is the latest in a series of civil actions stemming from the European Commission’s 2020 decision that found Clariant, Celanese, Orbia and Westlake had coordinated their ethylene purchasing strategies between 2011 and 2017 to influence the Monthly Contract Price (MCP)...
The renewed geopolitical tensions have pushed Brent crude back into the mid-$80s/bbl, rapidly rebuilding some of the war-risk premium that had evaporated after June's ceasefire hopes. This has also helped buoy the sentiment recently in polymer markets, where prices have been on a downturn for the past couple of months. After months of sluggish demand, ample supplies, and relentless price erosion, sellers are seizing on higher feedstock costs to argue that the market has reached its bottom...
India's proposed anti-dumping duties on LLDPE imports could significantly reshape the country's sourcing patterns, with suppliers from the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia at risk of losing a combined 36% share of India's import market. The US appears best positioned to capture much of this displaced demand, reinforcing an export shift already underway as Chinese buying continues to weaken…
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