Europe top stories: weekly summary
ICIS Editorial
28-May-2018
LONDON (ICIS)–Here are some of the top stories from ICIS Europe for the week ended 27 May.
Europe etac prices widen,
mixed views of demand
The low end of
spot prices for ethyl acetate (etac)
in Europe fell slightly in the week
ended 18 May, widening the assessed range,
as demand remains generally quiet.
European expectations for
US PE imports loom large but no prompt
supply
European polyethylene (PE) buyers are
waiting for imports from new US capacities to
arrive in the region, but volumes have been
sparse and most sources do not expect much
significant supply for weeks yet.
Poor
start to MMA coatings season on inflated growth
targets
It has been a disappointing
start to this year’s coatings season for
European methyl methacrylate (MMA)
players, largely because of the over-inflated
growth estimates for the year.
Denmark’s shipping major
Maersk to comply with US sanctions on
Iran
Maersk is set to wind down its activities in
Iran in response to the US breaking away from
the nuclear deal with the country, with a
timeline for withdrawal still to be determined,
a spokesperson for the Denmark-based shipping
major said on Monday.
INSIGHT: Standoff between
oil and UK government main obstacle to
E10
The UK government and the country’s transport
fuel suppliers have been entrenched in a
disagreement over whether biofuel E10 will be
mandated by the government or introduced by
suppliers at petrol stations, delaying its
introduction for years, according to the
biofuel’s supporters.
UK’s
Recycling Technologies signs £50m offtake deal
with InterChem
UK chemical recycling start-up Recycling
Technologies has signed an offtake deal with
traders InterChem which will sell all the
polymer feedstock – valued at £50m –
produced by its plastics recycling facilities
over the next five years.
European cracker margins
fall on feedstock gains
European ethylene cracker margins
have fallen week on week on the back of
feedstock gains, the latest ICIS margin
analysis showed.
Europe acrylates
fundamentals balanced, but Russia supply
restrictions during FIFA World Cup
possible
European acrylates supply is likely to stay
balanced with demand through the summer,
provided there are no prolonged delays to
plant maintenance restarts, unplanned outages
or lengthy disruption to logistics.
Eurozone manufacturing
hits 18-month low but growth remains
‘robust’
The eurozone’s manufacturing
industries growth hit an 18-month low in
May but remained at “robust” rates despite a
slowdown in Germany and France and a more
cautious outlook from entrepreneurs across the
19-country currency union, analysts at IHS
Markit said on Wednesday.
Europe PP spot prices
rise as sentiment shifts on higher costs,
tighter supply
European polypropylene (PP) spot
prices are increasing as market sentiment
shifts on the back of higher upstream costs and
the lack of cheap spot imported product.
Turkish polymer players
face lira crisis calmly but fear for economic
growth
Players in the Turkish polymer market have
become accustomed to economic crisis as
repeated political and financial issues have
limited market activity over the past few
years.
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