Europe top stories: weekly summary

LONDON (ICIS)–Here are some of the top stories from ICIS Europe for the week ended 20 April.

Europe caustic market braces for tightness as Russian firm seeks non-US sources
European caustic soda spot prices on a free on board (FOB) basis remain flat but US sanctions on Russian producer Rusal could tighten the market, according to sources.

Falling sales, US trade war, Syria weigh on Germany investor confidence
Investor confidence in Germany continued to slump in April as a result of falling domestic economic indicators, international trade conflicts for the US and the potential for escalating conflict in Syria, research group ZEW said.

Europe nylon 6,6 tightness worsens despite upstream ADN supply improvement
The European nylon 6,6 supply has continued to tighten this week despite improving supply in the upstream adiponitrile (ADN) market, sources said.

Europe BDO Q2 contracts agreed stable to firm so far, talks near end
The European butanediol (BDO) market discussions for the second quarter are still ongoing but some agreements have started to filter through at stable-to-firm levels, sources said.

Europe MEG spot prices play catch up after steep Asia gains
European monoethylene glycol (MEG) spot prices are playing catch up to the recent price surges in the Asia market, sources said.

Turkey’s Kazan Soda plant producing 6,000 tonnes/day, but full capacity delayed to June
Kazan Soda Elektrik’s new soda ash plant is currently producing around 6,000 tonnes/day, an official at the Turkish producer said, although full production capacity has now been further delayed until June.

China continues to drive global methanol market, India a growing player – IGP chief
China continues to be the key market for methanol producers, but India is growing in prominence as a consumer, according to the managing director of producer IGP Methanol.

Saudi Aramco Trading April sulphur posted price falls 10%
Saudi Aramco Trading’s April sulphur posted price is understood to have been announced at $122/tonne FOB (free on board), a fall of $13/tonne compared with March

Long European winter weighs on Yara Q1 profits
Yara’s first-quarter net income dropped 42% year on year to $116m as a result of the protracted European winter delaying the planting season and increasing production costs, the Norway-headquartered fertilizer specialist said.

Asian potash hits new high as tight availability bites
Southeast Asian standard-grade muriate of potash (MOP) prices hit a new high this week, as hefty freight costs and tight availability pushed offers up, leaving buyers scrambling for what little volume was available.

Turkish snap election may provide short-term benefit to polymers, but future unclear
Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan has announced the surprise, yet not totally unexpected, decision to move presidential elections from November 2019 to June of this year.