Europe top stories: weekly summary

LONDON (ICIS)–Here are some of the top stories from ICIS Europe for the week ended 29 March.

Germany business confidence improves despite further manufacturing decline
Business sentiment for German manufacturers has continued to decline despite a pick-up in confidence in other aspects of business, according to research from the ifo Institute.

Sulphuric acid players preach caution on Chinese capacity boom
The addition of new sulphuric acid capacity in China has become a talking point for the global market of late, with one trader describing potential new export players’ intentions as “the million-dollar question”.

Europe’s Q2 2019 methanol contract price settles at a rollover as spot price stabilises
Europe’s second-quarter 2019 methanol contract price settled on Wednesday at €350/tonne, a rollover from the previous quarter.

Saudi Aramco to buy 70% SABIC stake for $69bn
Saudi Aramco has agreed to purchase a 70% stake in local producer SABIC from the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia in a deal valued at $69.1bn, the Saudi Arabia-headquartered oil and gas giant said.

Europe Q2 oxo-alcohols demand strength remains unclear
The oxo-alcohols market is entering into what is traditionally its strongest demand period and while there is quiet optimism that this will develop there are also potentially opposing forces.

Antidumping duties set to impact the global UAN market
The antidumping complaint raised by Fertilizer Europe on behalf of various European urea ammonium nitrate (UAN) producers and its impact on the European market is a topic dominating nitrates market discussions, particularly now provisional antidumping duties (ADDs) have been published.

Turkey PE and PP players eye upcoming local elections as lira wobbles
Nerves in the Turkish polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) are high ahead of Turkey’s local elections this weekend, with the lira already volatile this week.