Europe top stories: weekly summary

LONDON (ICIS)–Here are some of the top stories from ICIS Europe for the week ended 2 September.

Germany’s automotive sentiment plunges on ‘general darkening mood’
Sentiment in Germany’s key, petrochemicals-intensive automotive sector slumped sharply in August on the back of the “general darkening mood” in the economy, research institute Ifo said on Friday.

Eurozone, UK under ‘recessionary conditions’ as winter storm gathers pace – ICIS economist
Economic indicators in the eurozone and the UK are worsening as domestic and overseas demand is weakening, suggestive of “recessionary conditions” for the months ahead, an economist at ICIS said on Thursday.

Europe propylene September contract drops by €165/tonne on naphtha, weak demand
The European propylene contract reference price for September has been set at €1,230/tonne, down by €165/tonne from August.

BASF’s oil and gas affiliate plans CCS project connecting Germany to Norway
BASF’s Winterhall Dea oil and gas affiliate and Norwegian energy major Equinor have agreed to work on developing “an extensive and safe carbon capture and storage (CCS) value chain” connecting German carbon dioxide (CO2) emitters to offshore storage sites on the Norwegian continental shelf, officials said on Tuesday.

Germany’s chemicals, wider manufacturing materials shortage eases in August
Germany’s acute manufacturing materials shortage eased in August, with just under half of chemical companies now reporting trouble sourcing inputs, research institute Ifo said on Tuesday.

Poland’s Anwil restarts fertilizers production ‘for sake of food security’
Poland’s PKN Orlen on Monday announced that its Anwil subsidiary is to restart its nitrogen fertilizers production “for the sake of food security”.