Europe top stories: weekly summary
ICIS Editorial
23-Apr-2018
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.
Global News + ICIS Chemical Business (ICB)
See the full picture, with unlimited access to ICIS chemicals news across all markets and regions, plus ICB, the industry-leading magazine for the chemicals industry.
Contact us
Partnering with ICIS unlocks a vision of a future you can trust and achieve. We leverage our unrivalled network of industry experts to deliver a comprehensive market view based on independent and reliable data, insight and analytics.
Contact us to learn how we can support you as you transact today and plan for tomorrow.