Corrections in petrochemical prices have been long coming, yet the speed and sharpness of the relapse surprised the industry. A reduction in margins had started in 2019, but the pandemic distorted the cycle, putting on hold the construction of world-scale petrochemical plants and playing with consumption behaviors as economies closed and re-started. Today, those capacities in Asia and the US that have been years in the making have come onstream, oversupplying the market.