Europe top stories: weekly summary

LONDON (ICIS)–Here are some of the top stories from ICIS Europe for the week ended 11 June.

UK sterling stabilises as May vows to form a ‘stable’ government
The UK’s pound sterling stabilised on Friday morning after a dramatic electoral result made investors nervous, although current Prime Minister Theresa May said she would stay on despite a decreased majority in Parliament. 

Europe PE prices fall further as June advances
Polyethylene (PE) prices are falling further than the €35/tonne drop in the June ethylene contract price, sources agreed on Friday.

INSIGHT: UK election result could mean softer Brexit
The UK election result in which the ruling Conservative party lost its majority in the House of Commons throws the forthcoming Brexit negotiations into disarray.

Africa PE prices fall, bottom of the market not yet in sight – sources
Some polyethylene (PE) prices have fallen in Africa this week on continued weak sentiment, and some sources this week said they do not think the bottom has been reached yet.

Anti-dumping drawbridge coming down for Europe’s ethanol market
European makers of bioethanol have been cushioned for half a decade by an anti-dumping duty keeping out all but the cheapest of US ethanol – but this protective trade barrier is about to come down.

Ports closed to Qatar shipping after diplomatic ties severance
Ports across Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are understood to be closed to ships from Qatar on Tuesday after the countries severed diplomatic relations with the country.

AkzoNobel sees interest in specialty chems from strategics, private equity
AkzoNobel is seeing strong interest in its specialty chemicals business from both strategic players and private equity firms, although it has yet to officially put the asset on the market, the head of the business said on Monday.

Europe cracker margins fall on softer June C2, by-product prices
European ethylene contract cracker margins have fallen in the wake of the lower ethylene, propylene and benzene contract reference price settlements for June outweighing falls in feedstock prices, according to ICIS margin analysis on Monday.

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