Polyolefins sentiment mixed-to-negative for October- CMCI

LONDON (ICIS)–Sentiment in the European polyolefins sector was mixed but more negative than positive in October, according to ICIS Chemicals Market Confidence Index (CMCI) data on Wednesday.

Whilst business conditions were seen as improving in the short term, rising into positive territory after negative sentiment from July to September, the 12-month outlook was significantly negative.

The short-term sentiment regarding business conditions has been on a rising track over the past quarter, whilst October’s figures marked some backsliding in a similar trend in the 12-month forecast.

The more negative long-term outlook may be a result of anticipated competition from Iran and the US in Europe, with imports expected to increase over the coming months.

Order book volumes were down, both in the short term and in the 12-month forecast.

Profitability expectations were up in the short term, although they remained in negative territory overall, but fell in the 12-month forecast.

September saw a similarly mixed forecast for the sector.

The newly established ICIS Europe CMCI aggregates sentiment from hundreds of petrochemical market players actively involved in price negotiations across more than 60 different markets.

The Europe CMCI runs from +100, to -100, with zero on each index representing neutral, or uncertain conditions, a negative score indicating bearish expectations and a positive score representing bullish expectations. The indices also gather sentiment on the comparison between the current situation and the situation across the past 12 months to give a complete picture of current market conditions and confidence. The information is gathered in the third week of each month.  A full methodology is available on request.

For more details on the overall Europe CMCI data, click here