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Morning Briefing - 25 Mar. 2026Hormuz supply shocks are paralyzing Southeast Asian petrochemical markets and forcing South Korea to consider emergency naphtha export limits. |
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CommoPlast
Morning Briefing
25 March 2026
Brent: $104.49 (+ $4.55)
WTI: $92.35 (+ $4.22)
Naphtha CFR Japan: â
Ethylene CFR NEA: Stable
Ethylene CFR SEA: Stable
Propylene FOB Korea: á
Propylene CFR China: á
*Data represent closing prices of the previous trading day
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Buyer confidence in Southeast Asia wanes further as price signals lose direction
Regional polyolefin markets are sliding further out of sync, as a supply-led PE surge clashes with volatility-driven paralysis in PP, eroding price discovery across Southeast Asia. Vietnam’s PE market has reset sharply higher on Middle East risks and tightening supply, while Chinese PP exports are being whipsawed by erratic oil swings, leaving offers misaligned with weak demand and draining liquidity.
Directional conviction is fading as uncertainty around the Strait of Hormuz continues to trigger sharp but unsustained repricing. Buyers remain sidelined, and without clearer geopolitical cues, elevated prices risk staying largely notional, with fragmented sentiment capping any recovery in trade.
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South Korea mulling intervention amid Northeast Asia naphtha squeeze
Feedstock scarcity is tightening its grip on Northeast Asia’s petrochemical complex, with LG Chem’s shutdown one of its crackers signalling a deeper structural squeeze as the Strait of Hormuz disruption chokes Middle Eastern naphtha flows. What began as a geopolitical shock is now forcing producers into defensive operating mode, idling secondary capacity to preserve limited feedstock while costs surge and availability shrinks.
In response, the South Korean government has temporarily designated naphtha as an economic security item and is expected to introduce export restrictions as early as this week.
Read the full story:
South Korea’s LG Chem halted Yeosu cracker as Hormuz disruption chokes naphtha supply
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