Europe top stories: weekly summary

LONDON (ICIS)–Here are some of the top stories from ICIS Europe for the week ended 21 March.

Europe spot PE prices freeze mid-March on tariffs, no sign of panic
Polyethylene (PE) spot prices in Europe are flat in mid-March after news of the EU-US tariffs brought trading activity to a halt, although little “panic” was seen in the week to 14 March.

German economic sentiment rallies to pre-war levels on government spending plans
Business sentiment in Germany jumped this month to the highest level since the onset of the Russia-Ukraine war, driven by expectations of higher government spending and the recent interest rate cut from the European Central Bank (ECB).

LyondellBasell, Covestro confirm closure of Maasvlakte, Netherlands POSM site
LyondellBasell and Covestro have confirmed the shutdown of the joint venture propylene oxide/styrene monomer (POSM) plant, the companies announced on Tuesday.

INSIGHT: Major macro reversal as Europe and China prepare to ramp up stimulus while US aims to cut spending
In the global chemical and economic landscape, the US has for many years been the ‘cleanest shirt in the dirty laundry basket’ with slowing but steady GDP growth, abundant and cheap energy, big government stimulus for infrastructure projects and a tilt towards reshoring.

Europe domestic base oils market shrugs off tariffs threat
Concerns in the European base oils market about the imminent US-EU trade dispute are limited to the wider economic impact long term, but participants dismissed an immediate effect given an exclusion for oil and oil products.

INSIGHT: How short will Europe PE get if tariff war sticks?
As the prospect of EU tariffs on US polyethylene sinks in, players in Europe will be gauging how exposed the region is, how short the market could get, and where replacements could come from, if tariffs are prohibitively high.