HOUSTON (ICIS)--Here are the top stories from ICIS News from the week ended 19 April.
IPEX: Global spot
index edges down on softer values in northwest
Europe
The global spot ICIS Petrochemical Index (IPEX)
edged down on the back of lower spot values in
northwest Europe, where derivative production
problems continue to hamper appetite for some
chemicals.
Argentina’s lower
rates helping central bank shore up balance
sheet at savers’ expense -
economist
Argentina’s latest cut to interest rates had
more to do with shoring up the central bank’s
balance sheet, possible thanks to currency
controls implemented by the prior
Administration, than the actual control of
price rises, according to the director at
Buenos Aires-based Fundacion Capital.
US manufacturers
‘uniformly optimistic’ about 2024 activity -
Fed Beige Book
US manufacturers were "uniformly optimistic" in
March about the prospects for the next 12
months on expected higher sales, the country’s
Federal Reserve (Fed) Beige Book said on
Wednesday.
INSIGHT:
Argentina’s petchems hit hardest by recession
as country holds breath under
Milei
Argentina’s petrochemicals are taking a severe
hit amid the recession, with falls in demand
for some materials of up to 50%, but companies
and the country are holding firm under the new
President’s economic shock therapy.
Green shoots
spring in eastern Europe, strong interest in
PPG’s architectural division -
CEO
Amid Europe’s industrial crisis, green shots
have started to appear in eastern countries,
giving hopes the downturn in the region has
bottomed out, the CEO at US paints and coatings
major PPG said on Friday.