EU chems output up in H1, Russia exports sharply down – Cefic

LONDON (ICIS)–EU chemicals industry output grew by 1.1% year on year in June and 0.2% for the first half of 2015 overall, while prices fell for both periods, industry body Cefic said on Wednesday.

Producer prices in the region dropped by 4.8% year on year for the first half of 2015 and 2.9% in June, Cefic added, noting that sales for the first six month of the year were down 4.2% compared with the same period in 2014.

Stronger output growth in the first quarter was tempered by a 0.7% quarter-on-quarter fall in the April-June period.

Industry confidence ticked up in the second quarter compared with the first, Cefic said, despite ongoing economic and political unrest in parts of Europe and the continuing slowdown in emerging markets.

Although China has rattled markets with the nearly 9% one-day fall on the Shanghai Composite Index on Monday, the larger industry shift during the first half has involved Russia, according to Cefic director general Hubert Mandery.

“While the public focus is very much on China these days, we see the biggest change in chemicals business related to Russia,” he said. “Our exports to Russia are down by 17 per cent, while imports increased by 8%.”

“For now Cefic maintains its EU chemical production growth forecast for 2015,” he added.

A 5.3% year-on-year increase in basic inorganics output and a 4.7% rise in specialty chemicals output in June helped to balance a 3% fall in polymers output and a 0.9% drop in petrochemicals output, Cefic said.

Petrochemicals prices fell 8.6% year on year in June, while plastics prices and consumer chemicals prices increased by 0.4% and 0.2%, respectively, over the same period. The EU’s net trade surplus for the first five months of 2015 fell by €370m to €18.1bn, largely on the back of the fall in trade with Russia.




Source: Cefic