Ethylene prices rose in Asian markets amid tightening supply as crackers lowered operating rates on poor margins. In Europe, cutbacks in operating rates by polyethylene producers contributed to the length in the market. In US, spot ethylene slipped as production facilities were returning back to normal operation. Asian paraxylene prices tanked below the psychologically important US$1,500 a ton mark for the first time in six months, hit by bearish downstream PTA market. Market players were sittin

Benzene prices declined in Asian markets unable to sustain a rebound that began early in the week. In Europe, benzene sentiments were bearish ahead of the second quarter while US market dropped to its lowest point since September 2012 earlier in the week. European benzene availability was looking ample. Asian caprolactum markets softened as demand weakened due to high inventory in the downstream segment. Prices also eased due to weak raw material while sellers were more active in selling. The

Asian propylene prices rose reflecting the effect of production cuts of producers in previous weeks. However, the rise differed from market to market. In Europe, the weakness in the upstream energy complex continued to drag the spot propylene market. While March business was done the attention now was focused on the April contract price settlement. US spot propylene was stable, amid thinly traded markets. Acrylonitrile market sentiments headed south, considering cost, supply and downstream dem

Cotton was cheaper across markets with US cotton Futures posting its biggest weekly slide in nine months. The most-active May cotton contract on ICE Futures US dropped US cents 5.21 for the week. The Cotlook A index also lost US cents 2.35 week on week. The China Cotton Index inched up 11 Yuan a ton. In India, cotton prices too dropped as buying by domestic mills declined and export demand weakening. Gujarat Sankar-6 cotton price declined Rs 400 per candy. In Pakistan, persistent demand by mil

Pure % cotton yarn prices were generally stable, with only few producers adjusting offers in line with the quality of products. Trade volumes were basically flat to the previous week, with deals mostly done for high-quality carded cotton yarns. Indian cotton yarn export prices soared 2-5% in line with a surge of cotton prices. Spun polyester yarn prices headed south as polyester staple fibre weakened further, and those for a few specs stayed on downward path. With poor offtake from mills, poly

Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) has opened 24 new procurement centres across the country since October last year, government said on Wednesday. The corporation responds to requests for opening of additional purchase centres based on the existing market situation of that particular area and the pace of arrivals of cotton, Minister of State for Textiles Panabaaka Lakshmi informed the Rajya Sabha in a written reply. "The number of procurement centres has been increased from 301 in 2011-12 to 32

A stated goal to reduce exposure to other markets will drive an enormous increase in propylene and propylene derivatives capacity in China by 2020, an executive with IHS Chemical said Thursday. Matthew Thoelke, director for olefins and derivatives in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, says China holds the key to the future propylene market because of its status as the world’s largest importer. “The Northeast Asian, Taiwanese, South Korean and Japanese petrochemical industries have grown up on

Pakistan’s export of textile and clothing fell by over four per cent in February 2013 from a year ago after witnessing successive growths in the past five months. Since October 2013, exports of textile and clothing rebounded because of slight rise in demand from recession-hit key markets of European and the US, and improvement in domestic production. Export of textile and clothing dipped to $991 million in February 2013 from $1.033 billion during the corresponding month of last year, showed

South Korea's imports of crude oil from Iran fell nearly a quarter in the first two months of this year from a year earlier as the country faced U.S. sanctions pressure targeting Tehran's nuclear development, Korean official data showed on Friday. The world's fifth-largest crude oil buyer imported a total 79.75 million barrels of crude oil in February, down 1.3 percent from a year earlier, data from state-run Korea National Oil Corp showed. Preliminary data from the Korean government showed ea

The exports of cotton yarn and raw cloth increased by 34 percent and 13 percent to $1.2 billion and $1.5 billion, respectively during six months (July to January) of 2012 as against the same period of 2011. Domestic cotton prices in China are high so millers in China are mainly relying on cheaper imports from Pakistan and regional producers, said fibre experts. The demand for cotton yarn and raw cloth from Pakistan will remain strong in coming months, as quality is higher with cheap internat