Europe top stories: weekly summary

LONDON (ICIS)–Here are some of the top stories from ICIS Europe for the week ended 16 February.

EU road fuels demand to drop 70% by 2050 as electrification takes hold
The European Union (EU) now has a decarbonization pathway for road transport firmly set out as the European Parliament and Council reached a provisional political agreement in mid-January on strengthening CO2 emissions performance standards for new heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs).

Global oil demand growth losing momentum as post-pandemic rebound phase ends – IEA
The momentum of crude oil demand growth is starting to slow as the post-pandemic rebound in consumption nears its conclusion, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Thursday, despite arctic conditions in January tightening market balances.

Low virgin chemicals pricing intensifies sustainable transition challenge – Borealis CEO
Lower pricing for virgin petrochemicals in Europe on the back of a prolonged demand trough is exacerbating the challenge of building out sustainable products portfolios into a core spine of a chemicals business, according to the CEO of Borealis.

Transport to drive 2024 crude demand growth – OPEC
Road and air transport demand are likely to be the key drivers of crude oil consumption growth this year, OPEC said on Tuesday, with petrochemicals sector consumption also likely to buoy volumes.

Europe OX, PX spot prices firm on higher contract pricing, freight costs
European orthoxylene (OX) and paraxylene (PX) spot prices rose last week amid firmer contract pricing and higher premiums over Asian values.