In December 2012, the world's first glass futures listing on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange came into being. Its timing, however, was not great. The glass futures experienced setbacks on the first day with current contracts all falling between 4-6%, with the biggest contract (1305) falling by 7.6%. As Asian Glass went to press (early December), according to the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange, the contract listed benchmark price of glass futures was 1420 yuan/ton. The reason for the wild fluctuations, claim the exchange, is that the pattern of China glass supply and demand is loose. Since down-stream consumption mainly focuses on the building industry, teh drop in demand since November has exerted downward pressure. As such, in order to reduce stock levels, whilst still remaining good sale-output ratio, and reserve enough capital, glass manufacturers have dropped prices. However, in the long term, it is hoped that the futures trading will supply a degree of consistency within the country's flat glass pricing system. This article takes a look at the economic woes in China, signaling a large-scale slowdown of the glass sector, and takes a look at its prospects through 2013.
