20
pages
0.68Mb
This is the July 2019 edition of our Asia-Pacific Quarterly (APQ). This will be the final edition in current quarterly format, but we will continue to deliver regular and new publications covering the region. We will also maintain updates on critical market developments, such as tradeflows, import/export quotas, and refinery slates via e-mail alerts and our data service available on our website.
Inside this edition:
- Focus: Trade war and peace—US-China and the spill-over effects: Stubbornly divergent views regarding intellectual property and 5G technology remain the stumbling blocks for a trade deal between the US and China. As talks between the two largest economies in the world ebb and flow, policy makers and businesses remain in limbo and this uncertainty is weighing on demand across the globe. The negative impact of the US-China trade war is spreading across Asian economies, weakening the demand outlook in one of the strongest growth regions.
- Focus: Asian refining outlook—A refined problem: Asian refining margins are being hit by the dual impact of over-capacity and the weakest growth since 2009. As demand growth in Asia struggles, light ends offer little hope with refiners increasingly looking for diesel to carry margins heading into IMO and 2020. With recessionary fears potentially weighing on diesel demand and the ascendancy of VLSFO as a competing fuel, margins may be challenged for much of next year.
