Europe top stories: weekly summary
ICIS Editorial
08-Jul-2019
LONDON (ICIS)–Here are some of the top stories from ICIS Europe for the week ended 5 July.
Germany develops plan to
counter low Rhine
Germany’s federal transport ministry and major
industries, including chemicals, have developed
an “eight-point plan” to ensure that shipping
on the River Rhine can continue even at
“extremely low water” levels.
India
increases fertilizers subsidies but seeks to
reduce excess use
India’s government increased on Friday its
fertilizers subsidies by 14% but also
emphasised that farmers should go back to “zero
budget farming”. Finance minister Nirmala
Sitharaman said in her Budget speech that
zero-budget farming could help double farmers’
income.
UK
chems could benefit from Jaguar Land Rover’s
planned EV investment
The UK’s chemicals industry could benefit from
plans announced on 5 July by Jaguar Land Rover
(JLR) to manufacture electric vehicles (EVs) at
the automobile major’s site in Castle Bromwich.
INTERACTIVE: June IPEX
down sharply as markets struggle with weakened
demand
The regional and global ICIS Petrochemical
Indexes (IPEXs) were sharply lower in June as
markets struggled with weaker end use demand,
inventory building in China, and the broader
impact of the US-China trade war.
Germany’s H1 chem-pharma
output falls 6.5%, outlook remains
challenging
Production in Germany’s
chemicals-pharmaceuticals industry fell 6.5%
year on year in the first half of 2019, with
most sectors reporting declines, the country’s
chemical producers’ trade group VCI said on 5
July.
New
EU Commission vice president for industry an
encouraging sign – Cefic
EU chemicals’ historic demand for a greater
focus on industrial policy at the top of the EU
institutions may be closer as the new
Commission to be chosen after the summer will
include a vice president for industry, the
director general at trade group Cefic said on 3
July.
EU
chems welcomes FTA with Mercosur, ethanol
players to fight ‘tooth and nail’ against
it
EU chemicals trade group Cefic has welcomed the
free trade agreement (FTA) between the EU and
Latin America’s Mercosur, which is expected to
fully remove duties for 90% of the EU’s
chemicals exports to the five-country bloc.
Eurozone manufacturing
PMI falls below expectations for
June
Manufacturing in the eurozone is weaker than
forecast, as the Purchasing Managers’ Index
(PMI) fell for the fifth consecutive month,
analysts at IHS Markit said on 1 July. The
final eurozone manufacturing PMI was assessed
at 47.6 for June, falling from the flash
assessment of 47.8 level for manufacturing
released earlier in the month.
INEOS
completes sale of melamine, paraform assets to
Prefere Resins
INEOS has completed the sale of its Melamines
& Paraform business to German phenolic
resins producer Prefere Resins, the chemicals
major said on 1 July. The transaction was
announced in April. Financial details were not
disclosed.
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