Europe top stories: weekly summary

LONDON (ICIS)–Here are some of the top stories from ICIS Europe for the week ended 17 April.

Europe PE endures week of tariff chaos, emerges with softer outlook
The European polyethylene (PE) market has suffered a week of tariff-based turmoil, which resulted in a significant shift in market sentiment.

Low river Rhine severely restricts chemical shipping, rates rise
Dry weather conditions are starving the river Rhine of water, restricting its use for chemicals traffic and pushing up shipping rates, with no improvement forecast until later in April.

Europe MPG players say seasonal improvement unlikely
European monopropylene glycol (MPG) sellers do not see any respite from tough market conditions as the construction sector is struggling, arbitrage with Asia is wide and US tariffs are creating uncertainties through the value chain.

INSIGHT: Europe chems players move to the side lines on tariff upheaval
The market volatility following the intensification of tariff threats has cast a pall over European chemicals sector activity, with players avoiding committing to long-term orders if possible in the face of demand uncertainty and currency volatility.