Europe top stories: weekly summary

LONDON (ICIS)–Here are some of the top stories from ICIS Europe for the week ended 3 April.

Europe toluene, MX sink past 14-year lows on crude coronavirus flop, weaker demand
European toluene and mixed xylenes (MX) spot prices crashed to 14- and 15-year lows last week, dragged by Eurobob gasoline dropping well below $200/tonne as coronavirus travel restrictions weakened petrol use and crude oil demand.

Europe PP consumption for automotive set to be gloomy for 2020
The European transportation sector accounted for about 1.1m tonnes of polypropylene (PP) used for manufacturing of cars and car parts, trucks and other vehicles, according to preliminary estimates by ICIS Analytics, using the ICIS Supply & Demand Database.

Germany’s chems employment resilient on union protection but short-time work impacting downstream
Employment in the German chemicals sector remains resilient and, given its importance in the supply chain and connection to the health sector, provisions are being made for workers in the industry, according to corporates and the main chemical union.

INSIGHT: Europe supply chains under pressure as logistics constraints affect air, sea and land
Supply chains continue to be challenging throughout Europe as legislators roll out tighter restrictions on movement to stop further spread of coronavirus.

Eurozone industry sentiment collapses as March PMI ‘masks slump severity’
The eurozone’s manufacturing index PMI fell in March to April 2009 levels but the “severity of the slump” was masked by disruptions in the supply chains, which normally would reflect booming industrial activity, analysts at IHS Markit said on Wednesday.

INSIGHT: Crash in key European petrochemical April contract prices forebodes difficult Q2
Fast falling spot prices pointed the way, but the precipitous drop in April contract prices in Europe for the major olefins and aromatics still came as a shock.

Arkema expects €40m-50m earnings hit from coronavirus in Q1
Arkema expects to record a €40m-50m hit to first-quarter earnings as a result of the coronavirus pandemic started in China in January and now with Europe at its epicentre, the CEO of the France-based producer said on Thursday.

EU production losses from coronavirus to cost hundreds of billions – Ifo
The coronavirus is set to cost Europe hundreds of billions of euros in loss of production, according to data released by analysts at the ifo Institute on Thursday.

Fresh EU applications from global biocides firms fail to materialise despite shortages
There has been no uptick in the number of global players seeking new approvals to sell biocidal products into the EU despite the current shortages in the region due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to regulator the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA).

Europe glycerine spot prices post triple-digit rises on fears of further biodiesel output cuts
European glycerine spot prices faced triple digit increases this week as availability tightened significantly, with players concerned that upstream biodiesel production will fall further through the second quarter.