Oil gains on supply cuts, but rising US output caps gains
- Brent crude oil climbed 0.8% to USD 56.44/bbl.
- US WTI added 0.7% to USD 54.35/bbl.
- EIA data showed stocks rose 564,000 bbl to 518.7 million last week. 

Lukoil's Middle East Head Sees Oil at USD 55 - 65 a Barrel on Cuts
- Oil will stabilize around USD 55 to 65/bbl.
- Lukoil’s output in Iraq is about 400,000 bbl/day. 

Feedstock (Ethane, Ethylene, Propane, Propylene, PX, PTA, MEG, EDC, VCM)
LG Chem Awards KBR Revamp Contract For Ethylene Unit Expansion at Daesan
- Seoul, LG Chem has awarded a revamp contract to KBR for an expansion of LG’s ethylene facility in Daesan, South Korea. 

Idemitsu renominates March PX ACP at $940/MT CFR,  USD 40 lower than initial nomination
- JX Nippon Oil & Energy nominated its March ACP at USD 980/MT CFR.
- South Korea’s Sk Global Chemical and S-Oil nominated at USD 970/MT and USD 960/MT CFR. 

China's ethanol imports drop 98% on month in Jan to 2,415
- China’s ethanol imports in January plunged 98% month on month to a three month low of 2,145 cu m.
- China exported 14,086 cu m ethanol in January, 12,757 cu m of it undenatured ethanol.

Polymers Price
Braskem Idesa to raise PE prices in Mexico by $125/MT
- Braskem Idesa will implement at USD 125/MT increase on all PE grades sold in Mexico effective March 1.
- S&P Global Platts last assessed LDPE delivered Mexico’s City at USD 1280/MT on February 22.

Asian Polyethylene: The Butadiene War Chest
- A sales tax reduction for cars up to 1.6 liters in engine size in China from 10% in 2015 to 5% in 2016.
- New height and weight restrictions on transporting goods by road in China.
- In January of this year, butadiene reached USD 2277/MT, historically very high but still some distance from the al-time high of USD 2861/MT in August 2011.

10 things you need to know in markets today
- Japan’s SoftBank Group is close to finalizing an investment in US office sharing startup WeWork in a deal expected to be worth over USD 3 billion.
- London Stock Exchange Group said on Sunday it believes the European Commission in unlikely to provide clearance for its merger with Deutsche Boerse AG.
- JPMorgan says the government’s floated plan to lower corporation tax to keep Britain competitive after Brexit would be “no silver bullet for a hard Brexit.”
- BMW may shift manufacturing to its production sites in Regensburg and Leipzig.
- Incoming officials have asked the US Trade Representative’s office to draft a list of the legal mechanisms.
- Asian stock markets are lower.
- Crude oil is up 0.59% to USD 54.31 and Brent is up 0.66% to USD 56.68. 
- Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway is out with its annual letter to shareholders.
- Former chief executive of B&Q’s owner Kingfisher, Sir Ian Cheshire is poised to become chairman of the UK division of Barclays Bank.
- Tech City UK has been granted the right to endorse 250 immigration visas this year.

Polymers Supply
Ril PE Hazira plant is also going for shutdown due to maintenance from 15th March for 2 weeks.

Courtesy: www.polymers.io