Europe top stories: weekly summary
ICIS Editorial
12-Feb-2018
LONDON (ICIS)–Here are some of the top stories from ICIS Europe for the week ended 9 February.
Kuwait’s EQUATE 2017 net
income up 66% on stronger EG, PET
EQUATE Group’s net income for 2017 rose 66%
year on year to $1.13bn on the back of a
rebound in ethylene glycol prices and improved
demand for polyethylene terephthalate (PET) in
Europe, the Kuwait-based petrochemicals
producer said.
Europe chems stocks fall
on global market slide
European chemical company stocks were trading
down following local markets which opened in
the red as the delayed impact of the worst
weekly performance for US markets in two years
built on expectations of rising inflation.
US
CB&I wins latest engineering contract for
IGP Methanol Gulf megacomplex
CB&I has won a contract to work on IGP
Methanol’s 7.2m tonne/year Gulf Coast methanol
production complex, the US-headquartered
engineering firm said.
Bio-capro, infinite
recycling can secure nylon’s future in the
circular economy – Aquafil CEO
Moving towards a circular economy for nylon is
a matter of when, not if, according to the CEO
at one of Europe’s largest manufacturers of
nylon textile filaments, Italy’s Aquafil.
Europe stocks continue
sliding as investors seek refuge in
bonds
Large falls in US and Asian stocks preceded
losses in European chemical stocks as investors
seek refuge in bonds, in anticipation of higher
inflation and interest rates.
Up to
four groups in second phase of AkzoNobel
specialties sale process
Three to four groups have advanced to the
second round of the bidding process for
AkzoNobel’s specialty chemicals unit, a
spokesperson for the Netherlands-headquartered
paints and coatings major said.
UK
making inroads into plastics recycling but true
circular economy ‘unattainable’ – BPF
UK plastics producers are committed to
increasing recycling rates but “true
circularity” in the economy is likely to be
unattainable, according to the director general
at the British Plastics Federation.
Hurricane Harvey-related
maintenances weigh on Total’s Q4 operating
income
Total’s refining and chemicals business posted
a 22% year-on-year decline in adjusted net
operating income to €886m in the fourth quarter
of 2017, partly weighed by maintenance
activities at its Port Arthur site in the US,
the French energy and petrochemicals major
said.
Europe PP sellers put
price pressure on February buyers
Polypropylene sellers in Europe are exerting
strong pressure on their buyers in February,
demanding more than the €28/tonne increase of
the monthly propylene contract price, sources
said.
European toluene spot
prices decrease following crude oil
correction
The week-long correction in the crude oil
market has put Eurobob gasoline prices on a
downtrend, pushing European toluene spot prices
even to below $700/tonne, sources said.
European PE prices up,
but buyers resist sellers’ attempts to improve
margins
European polyethylene prices are moving up in
February, but buyers are holding firm at paying
more than the increase in the February ethylene
contract, sources said.
Substance availability
key Reach challenge for Austrian chems –
FCIO
The threat of reduced substance availability in
Europe as a result of the final Reach deadline
in May this year is the key obstacle presented
to Austria’s chemicals sector by the
legislation, according to the director general
of the country’s chemical trade group FCIO.
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