China said on Monday the value of its currency is driven by market forces and that it has no intention to devalue the yuan to help exports, after Washington said it was monitoring the currency’s weakness amid the escalating bilateral trade row. SEE MORE Supply and demand factors, US-China trade tensions and the depreciation of the Chinese yuan would determine the performance of Asian petrochemical markets this week. Paraxylene, benzene and propylene could continue to find support from strong demand and thinning supply, but the US-China trade war and currency fluctuations could affect downstream demand and margins for polymers. SEE MORE Spot prices of non-dutiable polypropylene (PP) cargoes in southeast Asia have been falling since mid-June as regional supply was boosted by capacity start-ups in Vietnam and Malaysia. SEE MORE The US glycerine markets are seeing finely balanced supply/demand dynamics as the second half of 2018 ramps up. SEE MORE High density polyethylene (HDPE) yarn prices in China’s domestic spot market are currently at their three-month low, after steadily falling since late May due to growing supply of coal-based material. SEE MORE