Global Rebalancing

The restoration of the Middle East-to-Asia naphtha route is expected to add 3 million tons of supply back into the market by next month. This is triggering a massive sell-off as traders unwind their long physical positions.

Cracker Utilization Hopes

Major steam crackers in South Korea and Japan, which had been forced to reduce run-rates, are now planning for a return to full capacity. This is expected to normalize the supply of downstream polymers by Q3 2026.