01 The Outbreak of New Coronavirus May Reduce China’s PE Demand by 1.5 Million Tons A senior analyst at ICIS said the coronavirus outbreak could reduce China’s demand for polyethylene (PE) by 1.5 million tons. “If the coronavirus outbreak is under control and by the second half of March, the downstream industry will resume operations at a rate of 70-80%, then the demand for PE of about 1.5 million tons may reduce due to the outbreak,” said Amy Yu, senior analyst in China at ICIS Asia petrochemical analysis company. According to ICIS data, China’s PE consumption in 2019 is estimated to be 35 million tons. China’s PE demand usually recovers after the Lantern Festival, a week after the Lunar New Year holiday. “The average operating rate of downstream plants is estimated to be around 40%, because there are no workers before the end of February,” Yu said The analyst pointed out that the demand for blow molded HDPE for drug bottles is increasi...