Europe top stories: weekly summary

LONDON (ICIS)–Here are some of the top stories from ICIS Europe for the week ended 26 March.

Deluge of European PA production issues subside, feedstock tightness now a concern
Seven European phthalic anhydride (PA) producers have experienced production issues over the past five months, but market concern is now focused on availability of feedstock orthoxylene (OX), producers said on Friday.

Lower upstream prices weigh on PE market sentiment in Europe
Lower crude oil, and particularly naphtha, prices are having an impact on polyethylene (PE) sentiment in Europe, sources said on Thursday.

Timing of rejected PPG Akzo bid created an uproar in Netherlands – Akzo CEO
AkzoNobel on Wednesday rejected a second unsolicited takeover bid made by US-based PPG Industries and expressed its concerns about how the US-based company approached the offer.

Europe naphtha cracker margins slip, LPG margins rise
European contract and spot cracker margins based on naphtha feedstock slipped in the week ending 17 March, according to ICIS margin analysis on Tuesday.

Europe PP prices still too low to attract imports in spite of recent hikes
European polypropylene (PP) prices are still too low in global terms to attract imports, in spite of recent hikes in Europe and some slowing in Asia, according to ICIS data on Monday.

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