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Crude Oil12-Aug-2025
SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Singapore has upgraded its
2025 GDP growth forecast to 1.5-2.5% from 0-2%
previously, amid better-than-expected economic
performance in Q2 2025, the Ministry of Trade
and Industry (MTI) said on Tuesday.
Improved Singapore GDP growth forecast amid
tariff suspensions in May
US tariff effects to cloud GDP growth in
2025
Manufacturing to slow down as export
front-loading moderates
The economic outlook, however, remains “clouded
by uncertainty” and headwinds may shrink growth
further this year, MTI said in a statement.
Economic growth in most advanced and regional
economies, which include ASEAN, has been better
than expected as a 90-day suspension on US
tariffs delayed negative trade impact,
alongside a de-escalation of trade tensions
between major economies including China, Japan,
the EU, and many southeast Asian countries.
“Meanwhile, the US and China continue to be
engaged in trade talks, with indications that
the 90-day tariff truce between the two
countries could be extended,” MTI said.
On Tuesday, China and the US announced that
they had
agreed to a further 90-day extension on
“reciprocal” tariff suspensions until 10
November.
As front-loading of exports moderates and US
tariffs take effect from 7 August, Singapore’s
growth is expected to slow in the second half
of the year as demand weakens in manufacturing,
MTI said.
While Singapore is subject to 10% baseline
tariffs by the US, other Asian economies apart
from China have received between 15-25% levies.
Singapore grew by 4.4% year on year in the
second quarter, while on a quarter on quarter
seasonally-adjusted basis, the Singapore
economy expanded by 1.4%, swinging from a 0.5%
contraction in the first quarter.
Growth was primarily driven by the wholesale
trade, manufacturing, finance & insurance,
and transportation & storage sectors,
particularly as export front-loading took place
amid US trade tariffs levied on most countries
in April.
In the second quarter, the manufacturing sector
expanded by 5.2% year on year, following the
4.7% growth in the previous quarter.
Manufacturing growth during the quarter was
driven by output expansions across all except
the chemicals and general manufacturing
clusters, MTI said.
Meanwhile, non-oil domestic exports (NODX) grew
7.1% year on year in the second quarter, up
from 3.3% growth in the first quarter,
according to Enterprise Singapore
(EnterpriseSG) on Tuesday.
Trade statistics for the month of July will be
released on 17 August.
Focus article by Jonathan
Yee
Ethylene12-Aug-2025
SINGAPORE (ICIS)–China and the US have agreed
to suspend tariffs on each other’s goods for an
additional 90 days to 10 November, following US
President Donald Trump’s executive order signed
on 11 August.
Trump made the
announcement of the tariff suspension on
his social media platform Truth
Social.
All other tariff measures with China will
continue to apply, according to the
White House.
The two countries had held talks in Stockholm,
Sweden on 28-29 July and in London in June
leading up to the announcement, led by He
Lifeng, Vice Premier of China’s State Council,
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and US
Trade Representative Jamieson Greer,
China affirmed in a joint statement on Tuesday
that it will continue to suspend its additional
tariffs on US goods for 90 days starting 12
August, while retaining a 10% baseline
‘reciprocal’ tariff, and that the US would do
the same to Chinese goods.
Both countries will continue trade
negotiations, with the US describing talks as
“constructive”
The original deadline for tariff suspensions
was 12 August, after negotiations between China
and the US in May followed a trade war that
skyrocketed levies on each other in excess of
100%.
Thumbnail photo shows Qingdao Port in
Shandong province, China. (Source:
Costfoto/NurPhoto/Shutterstock)
Visit the US tariffs, policy – impact on
chemicals and energy topic page
Caustic Soda11-Aug-2025
HOUSTON (ICIS)–Tropical Storm Erin has formed
in the Atlantic Ocean just west of the Cabo
Verde islands and could become the first
hurricane of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane
season, but is not expected to threaten the US.
Meteorologists at the National Hurricane center
(NHC) said Erin is moving west at 20 miles/hour
and is expected to continue on this path for
the next several days.
The following image shows the storm could be
nearing Puerto Rico by Saturday.
Source: National Weather Service
Earlier satellite wind data indicated that
maximum sustained winds are near 45 miles/hour
(75 km/hour) with higher gusts. Gradual
strengthening is forecast over the next several
days.
Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to
35 miles (55 km) from the center.
Last week, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) and the
Colorado State University’s (CSU’s) Weather and
Climate Research department each maintained
their predictions of an above-average Atlantic
hurricane season.
Hurricanes directly affect the chemical
industry because plants and refineries shut
down in preparation for the storms, and they
sometimes remain down because of damage.
Power outages can last for days or weeks.
Hurricanes shut down ports, railroads and
highways, which can prevent operating plants
from receiving feedstock or shipping out
products.
Most US petrochemical plants and refineries are
on the Gulf Coast states of Texas and
Louisiana, making them prone to hurricanes.
Other plants and refineries are scattered
farther east in the states of Mississippi,
Alabama and Florida – a peninsula that is also
a hub for phosphate production and fertilizer
logistics.

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Caustic Soda11-Aug-2025
MADRID (ICIS)–Unipar faces minimal direct
exposure to US tariffs but is suffering
indirect effects as global supply chains are
hit by trade tensions creating high levels of
uncertainty, the CEO at the Brazilian
chloralkali and vinyls producer said.
Rodrigo Cannaval said that downstream segments
and key end markets are suffering the impact of
the increased tariffs imposed by the US on
several countries, not least Brazil which is
subject to a 50% import tariff.
“Unipar doesn’t export to the US so, in that
regard, is little impacted by this tariff
issue, but we have to observe the impacts on
our clients’ chain,” said Cannaval, speaking to
reporters and chemical equity analysts late on
Friday.
“For example, take a report from the Rio Grande
do Sul footwear industry which said they were
being impacted by these measures and this, in
turn, impacts PVC [polyvinyl chloride] demand.”
Cannaval said that while current impacts remain
“incipient,” Unipar is keeping a vigilant
monitoring of potential demand effects as trade
policy consequences filter through industrial
supply chains.
Beyond specific tariff effects, the CEO
highlighted how trade tensions contribute to
general market instability affecting global
petrochemical flows and pricing dynamics.
“There is great uncertainty in the global
market, given all the tariff theme, which is
also making freight prices and flows quite
uncertain. At this moment, we need to foster
demand. And once this demand exists, then we’ll
see the impacts of new sources and competitive
freights reaching Brazil,” said Cannaval.
“This means we have to have, again, rigidity,
cautious management and much control to be
passing to the next periods. This is today’s
vision, given all this scenario and this
industry context.”
Last week, Brazil’s polymers major Braskem said
the potential negative
impact from US import tariffs to Brazilian
goods would be “negligible” as only under 1% of
its sales in the first half of 2025 were
shipped to the US.
Unipar has emerged as one of the best
performing Brazilian chemical producers amid a
generalized downturn which has hit other
companies hard.
Unipar’s second-quarter earnings and net
income rose
sharply, year on year, while Brazilian
polymers major Braskem’s earnings
fell and the company continued posting
a net loss during the period.
The company’s CFO Alexandre Jerussalmy also
confirmed earlier talks with Braskem for a
potential acquisition of some of its assets,
adding that Unipar is “ready to grow” although
nothing is certain yet.
Front page picture: A Unipar production
site in Brazil
Picture source: Unipar
Speciality Chemicals11-Aug-2025
BARCELONA (ICIS)–ICIS is proud to reveal the
winners of the 2025 ICIS Innovation Awards for
companies that have made the greatest
contribution to the industry’s future.
The winners, selected from shortlists by a
panel of independent judges, will celebrate
their success along with the judges at London’s
Savoy Hotel in November, where the overall
winner will also be revealed.
Congratulations to these companies that have
led the way in chemical industry innovation
across each of this year’s award categories.
Best Digital Innovation, sponsored by
Azelis: Dow
Best Process Innovation from a large
company: Johnson Matthey
Best Process Innovation from a small to
medium sized enterprise (SME): Future Origins
Best Product Innovation from a large
company: Verbio SE
Best Product Innovation from a SME,
sponsored by Indorama Ventures: GFBiochemicals
Click
here to see full details of the winning
entries.
ICIS Chemical Business deputy editor Will
Beacham, who chaired the panel of judges said:
“In the midst of extremely challenging market
conditions, these companies are investing in
their future, and providing solutions which
help customers make the world a better place.”
Click
here to register your interest in the 2026
awards.
Criteria for winning entries:
Make sure your entry is concise, detailed
and complete
It should have the “Wow” factor
Stage of commercialisation is important:
judges admire innovations with “steel in the
ground”
Impact on society and the chemical
industry: the broader the potential impact the
better
Evidence of partnerships along supply
chains: these are important in the drive to net
zero carbon
To get the top award you need to offer
something which is really different and truly
innovative
Speciality Chemicals11-Aug-2025
LONDON (ICIS)–Here are some of the top
stories from ICIS Europe for the week ended 8
August.
Europe R-PP packaging
demand remains high, but so does
consolidation risk
The European recycled polypropylene (R-PP)
market remains sharply divided between
end-uses with high regulatory pressure on
sustainability, such as packaging, and
end-uses primarily driven by cost-saving
against alternatives, such as construction.
This is likely to intensify as the market
moves closer to 2030.
Europe MTBE supply to
remain supported by imports in H2
Looking ahead to the second half of 2025, the
European methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE)
market is expected to be remain supplied by
imports, mostly from northeast Asia.
Green transition an
era-defining challenge for EU and Spain’s
chems sector – union
Adapting to the green economy will be the
key, long-term challenge for the EU and
Spain’s chemicals sector, while the current
focus on energy costs is misplaced, according
to Spain’s main trade union.
OMV
needs regulatory certainty before it can
further scale up chemical recycling
OMV needs a more secure regulatory
environment before it is willing to risk
further investment in scaling up its chemical
recycling facilities, according to the
company’s CEO.
Europe MEG market
unconcerned by plant shutdowns amid weak
demand
Lacklustre demand and oversupply will likely
characterize Europe’s ethylene glycols (EG)
markets through 2025, but sellers are hopeful
that plant shutdowns, export opportunities
and winter seasonality will provide some
support.
Crude Oil11-Aug-2025
SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Saudi Arabian producer
Methanol Chemicals Co (Chemanol) is facing a
lawsuit seeking Saudi riyal (SR) 73 million
($22.4 million) in relation to the
80% equity acquisition of specialty and
fine chemicals manufacturer Global Company for
Chemical Industries (GCI) in May 2024.
The former owners of GCI, consisting of five
plaintiffs, filed the lawsuit against the
company before the Damman Commercial court,
Chemanol said in a filing to the Saudi bourse,
Tadawul, on 10 August.
According to the statement of claim, a sale
agreement was signed in May 2024 during the
term of the former board of directors.
Under the agreement, 80% of the shares in GCI –
owned by the plaintiffs – were sold to
Chemanol.
The sellers are now demanding Chemanol to pay
the remaining amount of the deal as per the
share purchase agreement.
“Regarding the expected financial impact, it
cannot be determined at this stage. Any
developments concerning this case will be
announced in due course,” said Chemanol in a
statement.
“While Chemanol denies the claims made by the
former owners of the Global Company for
Chemical Industries and rejects any
responsibility towards them, it is not possible
at this stage to assess liability until the
lawsuit is concluded,” the company added.
In April 2025, Chemanol had hired a specialized
legal firm to “study its legal position”
regarding the acquisitions of both GCI and
ADDAR Chemicals Company (ACC), along with the
circumstances surrounding the two deals,
concluded during the previous Board of
Directors’ term.
The
84% acquisition of ACC, valued at SR46.2
million, was completed in February 2024.
($1 = SR3.75)
Power11-Aug-2025
Article 3 of a draft Energy Decree (“DL
Energia”) seen by ICIS sets out measures to
accelerate Italian data centre expansion
The Italian Datacenter Association told
ICIS it welcomed the decree’s aim of
streamlining the authorization process for data
centres
An acceleration of Italian data centre
deployment could increase national power demand
in upcoming years, thus supporting wholesale
electricity prices
LONDON (ICIS)–The Italian government’s
measures to speed up national data centre
outbuild, as set out in Article 3 of a draft
Energy Decree (“DL Energia”) which is expected
to be implemented in August, have been
described by the Italian Datacenter Association
(IDA) as an opportunity for Italy to narrow the
gap with FLAP-D markets.
FLAP-D stands for Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam,
Paris, and Dublin, a group of major European
data centre markets.
Floriano Monteduro, president of IDA’s energy
technical committee, told ICIS that the
association “welcomes the government’s draft
energy decree, which has among its aims that of
streamlining the authorization process for data
centres—which can currently take as long as
five years—through the introduction of a single
environmental procedure with a maximum duration
of 10 months.”
Should the Energy Decree succeed in
accelerating Italian data centre outbuild, data
centres are expected to act as significant
drivers of national electricity demand in
upcoming years, thus potentially supporting
wholesale electricity prices.
ITALIAN DATA CENTRES
According to a report
published in July by the Italian energy and
business ministries (MASE and MIMIT), installed
data centre capacity in Italy currently amounts
to 591MW.
The report mentions that there are over 40GW of
grid connection requests by data centre
projects currently pending, 60% of which are
concentrated in the northern regions of
Piedmont and Lombardy.
ICIS Long-Term Power Analytics is forecasting
total Italian power demand to grow by 9.1% over
the next five years, reaching 338.1TWh in 2030.
REGIONAL DISTRIBUTION
The draft Energy Decree, which was seen by
ICIS, states that “it is necessary to ensure a
uniform distribution of data centres across the
country, including in the southern regions.”
Grid connection requests by data centre
projects are currently concentrated in the
north of Italy. An Italian energy market expert
told ICIS that the decree “aims to encourage
data centre development in southern regions
where high renewable and BESS [battery energy
storage system] development is anticipated.”
The energy market expert added that, should
“article 1 of the decree successfully tackle
virtual grid saturation, then the TSO will be
able to reserve some of the freed-up connection
capacity for data centres.”
Francesco Taurino, cofounder of Data Felix, a
2MW edge data centre located in the region of
Campania, told ICIS that “the energy decree
certainly has the potential of accelerating
data centre outbuild in Italy.”
According to Taurino, tackling virtual grid
saturation would help to encourage a more
uniform distribution of data centres throughout
Italy—in contrast to their current
concentration in the Milan urban area—and “to
ensure that existing facilities can serve
current and future clients without the risk of
overloading the grid.”
An Italian market regulatory specialist was
less optimistic about the decree’s chances of
encouraging data centre outbuild outside of the
north of Italy, telling ICIS that “data centres
will continue to try and situate themselves
close to customer demand and network cables,
both of which are concentrated in the north.”
However, the report published by MASE and MIMIT
claims that a more uniform distribution of data
centres throughout Italy is made possible by
“the technological attractiveness of its
regions, ensured by the presence of submarine
fibre optic cable landing points, internet
exchange points (IXPs), and an
extra-high-voltage electricity grid.”
ENERGY TRANSITION DRIVERS
Though an acceleration of Italian data centre
deployment will tend to increase national
electricity demand and support power prices,
Giulio Troncarelli, CEO of the energy
consultancy firm Energy of Things, told ICIS
that data centers have the potential of
reducing energy consumption and acting as
“drivers of the energy transition.”
Troncarelli explained that “thanks to the data
forecasting and optimization services made
possible by data centres, energy-intensive
consumers will be able both to reduce their
total power demand and to shift part of their
consumption onto hours in which grid demand is
lower and electricity is cheaper and less
carbon-intensive.”
Gas11-Aug-2025
SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Here are the top stories
from ICIS News Asia and the Middle East for
the week ended 8 August.
S
Arabia’s SABIC extends Q2 net loss on
impairment charges, lower sales
prices
By Jonathan Yee 04-Aug-25 11:50 SINGAPORE
(ICIS)–SABIC extended its net loss to Saudi
riyal (SR) 4.07 billion ($1.08 billion) in
the second quarter following a cracker
closure at Teesside in the UK as well as
lowered sales prices, the Saudi Arabian
chemicals giant said on 3 August.
OUTLOOK: Asia H2
synthetic rubber markets face weak downstream
demand, upstream volatility
By Ai Teng Lim 05-Aug-25 10:45 SINGAPORE
(ICIS)–Spot prices in southeast Asia for
synthetic rubber imports, from styrene
butadiene rubber (SBR) to polybutadiene (PBR)
and acrylonitrile butadiene rubber (NBR), are
at year-low levels, as various macro-level
developments are keeping downstream demand
under pressure.
OUTLOOK: Asia MEG to
grapple with recovering supply, slow demand
in H2
By Judith Wang 06-Aug-25 10:00 SINGAPORE
(ICIS)–Asia’s monoethylene glycol (MEG)
market is expected to struggle with
recovering supply and weak demand in the
second half of 2025, although poor margins
may continue to lend some support.
OUTLOOK: China MEG
weighed by weak supply-demand
fundamentals
By Cindy Qiu 06-Aug-25 10:04 SINGAPORE
(ICIS)–The recent clash in supply and demand
in China’s monoethylene glycol (MEG) market
has led to a stalemate and consolidation in
pricing.
OUTLOOK: Asia VAM
losing shine as solar tariffs bite
By Hwee Hwee Tan 07-Aug-25 10:17 SINGAPORE
(ICIS)–Asia’s vinyl acetate monomer spot
markets are expected to soften into the third
quarter as demand from a key downstream
sector slows, offsetting support from
curtailed plant supply.
Asia petrochemical
market grapples with trade tensions,
oversupply
By Jonathan Yee 08-Aug-25 13:55 SINGAPORE
(ICIS)–The Asian chemical industry is on
edge as US tariffs, which activated on 7
August, will exacerbate longstanding
oversupply and weak demand issues.
OUTLOOK: US 19% tariff
spurs short-term demand for Indonesian,
Malaysian oleochemicals
By Helen Yan 08-Aug-25 14:54 SINGAPORE
(ICIS)–Major Asian oleochemical producers in
Indonesia and Malaysia are seeing a pick-up
in demand from the US following the 19%
tariff announced by the US Trump
administration – but it remains to be seen
whether the US demand is sustainable in the
longer term.
INSIGHT: China to see
notable H2 exports slowdown despite US tariff
war de-escalation
By Nurluqman Suratman 08-Aug-25 17:35
SINGAPORE–Despite higher-than-expected
growth in the first half of the year and an
easing of trade tensions with the US, China’s
exports are projected to slow significantly
in the latter half of 2025.
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