Americas top stories: weekly summary

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Here are the top stories from ICIS News from the week ended 6 April:

US April benzene contract settles lower on weaker spot pricing
US April benzene contracts settled 7 cents/gal ($21/tonne) lower, sources confirmed on Monday.

INEOS awards EPC contract for US PAO unit in Texas
Canadian chemical engineer SNC-Lavalin and joint venture partner JV Driver were awarded an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to design and build a polyalphaolefin (PAO) unit at the INEOS petrochemical complex in Chocolate Bayou, Texas, it said on Tuesday.

US March ethylene contracts settle down 1.75 cents/lb
US March ethylene contracts have settled for a majority of participants at a decline of 1.75 cents/lb from the prior month amid lower month-on-month spot prices, sources said on Tuesday.

US Air Products breaks ground on methane reformer in Geismar
Air Products broke ground on a methane reformer and cold box that will supply carbon monoxide, hydrogen and steam to Huntsman’s operations in Geismar, Louisiana, the US-based industrial gases producer said on Tuesday.

China to hike tariffs on 106 US products, including chemicals
China has decided to increase tariffs on 106 products originated from US by 25%, with the chemicals sector one of the key targets of the measures  according to a statement from China’s Ministry of Finance on Wednesday.

Global chems stocks slide as US-China trade war tensions intensify
Chemicals sector stock prices sank on Wednesday following the announcement by Chinese authorities of retaliatory tariff measures against the US targeting sector exports.

Proposed Chinese tariffs to hit US LLDPE, LDPE as plants ramp up
The tariffs that China has proposed against US products includes polyethylene (PE), which could deny producers the key market they planned to target just as they are starting up several plants that will produce the resin.

US pipeline shutdown piles on propane price pressure
The shutdown of a natural gas liquids (NGL) pipeline in the northeastern US is adding downward pressure in the US propane market, market sources said on Thursday.

Chem stocks fall as Dow Jones falls 572.46 points
Stocks of US-listed chemical companies fell sharply on Friday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 2.34%.

US spot ethylene falls to 16-year low amid tariff concerns
US spot ethylene traded at a 16-year low on Friday amid long supply and concerns about proposed Chinese tariffs on chemicals.