ICIS Market Expert Blogs

Read our chemical and energy experts’ latest assessment of the market

Asian Chemical Connections

John Richardson’s Asian Chemicals Connections looks at Asian and global commodity chemicals and polymer pricing trends, supply and demand, macroeconomics, energy and environmental issues.

China events suggest no global petchems recovery until 2026
23rd July 2024

Capacity growth of just 1.6m tonnes a year versus our base case of 5m tonnes a year would require substantial capacity closures in some regions. Closu

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Petrochemicals after the Supercycle: Revised scenarios
18th July 2024

LET ME AGAIN bang away on the same old drum which I’ve covered with a new skin: The above slide is an updated version of the slide I first published

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China’s petrochemicals capacity growth: A new normal of much greater uncertainty
15th July 2024

UNDERSTANDING what was going to happen next with petrochemicals capacity additions in China used to be easy. Now we are in a world of muddle and ambig

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China PP exports could reach 2.6m tonnes in 2024 as markets become ever-more complex
5th July 2024

As recently as 2020, China’s PP exports for the whole year were just 424,746 tonnes. Between 2021 and 2023 they ranged between 1.3m to 1.4m tonnes.

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Chemicals and the Economy

Guest blogger, Paul Hodges looks behind today's headlines and studies key influencers shaping the chemical industry over the next 12-18 months. He takes a closer look at oil prices, economic growth and the environment among other things, along with some light-hearted commentary along the way.

The time for action to protect European chemicals is now
14th July 2024

The critical test is now ahead – making it happen. Companies, investors and policymakers need to borrow Winston Churchill’s famous motto, “Actio

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Hurricanes and Houthis pressure global supply chains and add to inflation risk
7th July 2024

The Houthi attacks and increased hurricane risks highlight how geopolitics are replacing economics as the key driver for decisions. Global supply chai

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It’s our 17th birthday – and the world is looking very different from when we started
30th June 2024

The two super-critical ‘dividends’ of the past 30 years are now reversing. The ‘demographic dividend’ of constant growth and low inflation cre

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Stock market bubbles follow the same pattern, as Nvidia and Cisco confirm
23rd June 2024

Nvidia is a good company. And AI has proved useful for decades – flying planes, for example. But Silicon Valley is also very good at hype. And so Nvid

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