Europe top stories – weekly summary

LONDON (ICIS)–Here are some of the top stories from ICIS Europe for the week ended 5 February.

Germany car sales up 10.5% in January
Germany’s new-car registrations rose 10.5% year on year to 241,399 in January, but they were down 5.9% sequentially from December, the country’s federal vehicle authority said in a data release made available on Friday.

Europe EPS makers mull lower output on pricey styrene, weak margins
The European expandable polystyrene (EPS) market is bracing for potentially difficult February contract price discussions as the feedstock styrene barge contract recorded another three-digit increase for the month, sources said on Friday.

Europe PE buyers face strong hikes as producers target additional margin
Polyethylene (PE) buyers are facing price hikes up to €95/tonne for February, sources said on Friday.

Upstream, chemicals drive 14% increase in Shell’s Q4 net income
Shell’s fourth-quarter group net income excluding identified items rose 14% year on year to $1.8bn as upstream and chemicals earnings helped to offset a weaker performance by its refining and trading operations, The Netherlands-headquartered oil and gas major said on Thursday.

Shell’s early exit from SADAF due to differing views on how to run it – CEO
Shell’s early exit from 50:50 petrochemical joint venture SADAF with Saudi Arabia’s SABIC occurred after the two companies had differing views on how to take the enterprise forward, the CEO of the Anglo-Dutch energy major said on Thursday.

Europe February styrene barge settlement agreed €260/tonne higher
The European styrene barge contract for February has been agreed at €1,560/tonne, an increase of €260/tonne from the previous month, several sources confirmed on Wednesday.

Low chem stocks could stem annual post-Lunar New Year exports to Europe
Chemical players in Europe are questioning what the impact of the Lunar New Year holiday will be on exports from Asia and, given the diminished inventories for a number of chemicals, whether the traditional increase of exports from the region will take place this year. 

Europe cracker closures to affect polymer production in first half 2017
A series of planned cracker shutdowns in the first half of the year is expected to affect polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) output, according to market sources.

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