Oil climbs on report Iran may support OPEC production freeze

SEATTLE (polymers.in):  Oil Drops to Unwind Surge; Asian Shares Seen Tracking U.S. Gains
- Emerging marker assets fell with European equities and the dollar strengthened as expectations for a US interest rate hike grew.
- Stoxx Europe 600 Index was down 0.4%.
- Glencore Plc fell 2% after the commodities trader reported a 66% drop in first half profit.
- MSCI Emerging Markets Index dropped 1.2%.
- Japan’s Topix index rose 0.7%, led by gains in exporters as the yen weakened versus the greenback.  

Oil Climbs on Report Iran May Support OPEC Production Freeze
- Oil prices closed 1.5%.
- Oil entered a bull market Aug 18, having climbed more than 20% since dipping below USD 40/bbl earlier.
- WTI for October delivery rose 69 cents to settle at USD 48.10/bbl.
- Brent for October settlement climbed 80 cents or 1.6% to USD 49.96.  

Oil Ends Longest Gain in 4 Years on Nigeria, Iraq Supply Boost
- Futures slid by 3% in New York after climbing 16%.
- Oil entered a bull market last week, having climbed more than 20% since sliding below USD 40/bbl.
- Iraq will increase exports by about 150,000 bbl/day as shipments resume.  

US energy shares down on oil price fall
- Shares in leading US energy companies sank as crude prices fell 3.4% on signs of rising supplies.
- Brent crude fell to USD 49.16/bbl, while US oil dropped to USD 47.43.
- Oil giant Chevron dropped 0.4%.  

Canadian oil refinery to re-use 100% of water
- Federated Co-Operatives Ltd. refinery complex in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, in installing General Electric’s advanced water recycling technology that will enable the refinery to clean 100% of its wastewater.  

Feedstock (Ethane, Ethylene, Propane, Propylene, PX, PTA, MEG, EDC, VCM)
Propylene prices leap higher in Asia
- On Friday, FOB Korea propylene prices were assessed higher at USD 755/MT levels, a spike of USD 45/MT from the previous week. CFR Taiwan prices of propylene were higher at USD 805/MT levels, a steep week on week increase of USD 45/MT.
- CFR China prices of propylene were assessed up at USD 800/MT levels, a sharp week on week rise of USD 45/MT.
- CFR South East Asia prices of propylene were assessed up at USD 745/MT levels, a week on week surge of USD 40/MT.  

NWE spot ethylene price bucks Aug holiday trend on naphtha, outages
- Spot prices reached EUR 894/MT on Friday, up EUR 21 on the day and unchanged since 5 Aug.
- Naphtha, the primary feedstock of ethylene has risen 19% since the beginning of the month to USD 396.25/MT CIF NWE.  

Naphtha, LPG gains mean 7-9% fall for Europe ethylene cracker margins
- EUR dominated naphtha costs rose by about 8% while LPG feedstock costs increased by 9%.
- Contract cracker margins based on naphtha fell by about 9% to their lowest value since mid-July, mitigated in part by a 2% increase in co-product credits.  

US ethylene nears 13-month high amid prolonged steam cracker outage
- US spot ethylene was assessed at 34 - 34.5 cents/lb. FD USG for August and at 33.75 - 34.25 cents/lb. FD USG for September.
- ExxonMobil was heard successfully restarting on Thursday its 989,000 MT/year ethylene plant in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  

PKN Orlen receives board approval to raise Plock propylene capacity
- PKN Orlen has received management and supervisory board approval to build a new metathesis unit that will increase propylene capacity by 100,000 ton/year.
- The new unit will be built under a license from Lummus Technology. 

Polymers Demand
Japanese Shares Fall on Low Volumes as Commodity Stocks Decline
- Japanese shares fell for the first time in three days in thin trading as commodity producers declined following a slump in crude.
- Volume on the Topix index was 21% lower than the 30 day average.
- Chugoku Electric Power Co. added 22%, while oil explorer Inpex fell 2.2%.  

Japan's Showa Denko, JX to buy out LyondellBasell stake in PP firm
- Japan’s Showa Denko and JX Nippon Oil Corporation will acquire 50% stake in PP producer SunAllomer owned joint venture partner LyondellBasell for an undisclosed fee. 

Processors go on buying spree ahead of likely September price rise.  

Bio-based Polyethylene Terephthalate market anticipated to reach 5,800 Kilotons by 2020
- Bio-based PET market is anticipated to reach 5,800 kilo tons by 2020.
- Bio-based PET was predominantly used for the packaging of CSD.  

Polymers Supply
Imports of PP into Belarus rise by 15.4% in H1 2016
- Imports of PP into Belarus grew to 8,900 MT in June, under the pressure of seasonal factors.
- Imports of homopolymers PP to the Belarusian market dropped to 5,200 MT.  

Imports of PE into Belarus rise by 20.8% in January-June 2016
- Total imports of PE into Belarus increased to 57,600 MT in the first six months of this year up 20.8% year on year.
- Imports of LDPE and LLDPE increased to 7,700 MT in June.

Courtesy: www.polymers.io