Prices of epichlorohydrin (ECH) were overall stable-to-firm, as producers maintained strict price discipline while sentiment improved in the domestic market in China. Iso-tank CFR China prices were assessed within a wider range of $1,050-1,150/tonne, reflecting the buy-sell ideas for the week ending Tuesday. Offers were pegged at or above $1,200/tonne CFR China for imports, with or without anti-dumping duties. Citing firm feedstock propylene costs and recent hikes in energy numbers, leading suppliers were almost unanimous to keeping away from the Chinese market and looking to divert cargoes to other regions. One seller acknowledged that he could not get any buyers with his offer, and was considering adjusting lower his price idea for May deliveries in order to entice some buying interest. Other sellers preferred to keep to the sidelines, citing comfortable inventories. Among buyers in China, traders displayed the highest level of interest but even their buying ideas were no more than $1,050/tonne CFR for iso-tank material and just a tad higher for drummed material. End-users were absent from the market, focusing on domestic supplies which were more competitively-priced. Notionally, some of them said they could buy just a above $1,000/tonne CFR China, but also acknowledged that it was not possible to get any seller at such a level. Traders said that supply within China remained ample and end-users were in no hurry to commit to further feedstock purchases. The downstream epoxy resin sector was stable, but signs of a further price slippage were evident. As such, demand was deemed stable-to-weak at best, said market players. In the Chinese domestic market, ECH prices managed to rise after more than two weeks of falls, quoted at yuan (CNY) 8,800-9,000/tonne delivered in east China. The increase was CNY200-300/tonne but market players stressed that most transactions took place at the lower end of the range. In the downstream liquid epoxy resin (LER) sector, Asian liquid epoxy resin (LER) spot prices remained unchanged this week. Offers by producers were stable at $1,900-2,100/tonne CFR China. Buying interest continued to be weak from end-users in China. Players were optimistic however, expecting firmer demand next month from Chinese buyers during the summer season. ($1 = CNY6.82)