Asia's bisphenol A (BPA) markets are set for exciting times ahead as sturdy downstream engineering plastics demand continue to spur consumption of the raw material, even as anti-dumping duties are being levied on imports to China. SEE MORE Asian shares rose on Wednesday with oil and copper prices rocketing to multi-year highs in an uplifting sign for global growth and inflation, while major currencies were becalmed in a holiday-shortened week. SEE MORE China’s benzene imports in 2018 could exceed 3m tonnes, which represent a more moderate growth compared with the projected increase of over 50% in 2017, market players said. SEE MORE Economic experts specializing in China forecast that the country's gross domestic product will grow 6.5% on average in 2018, down from the estimate of 6.8% for 2017. SEE MORE As 2017 draws to a close, attention in the European polymers markets turns to 2018, which is expected to be a year when price movements in polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) could diverge significantly. SEE MORE