Europe top stories: weekly summary

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

Shell starts production at new US alpha olefins unit
Shell has started production at its fourth alpha olefins (AO) unit at its Geismar, US, complex, bringing total production of the material at the site to 1.3m tonnes/year, the Anglo-Dutch energy and petrochemicals major said.

Germany’s industrial contraction in November heightens recession fears
Industrial production in Germany contracted month on month in November, raising concerns that the eurozone’s largest economy may have sunk into recession in the second half of the year after the third-quarter’s contraction.

Germany’s chems orders, production sharply down in November
New orders and production in Germany’s chemicals and pharmaceuticals industry both fell markedly in November month on month, the country’s central bank said.

Europe ECH market to stay healthy despite downstream instability
The European epichlorohydrin (ECH) market looks likely to continue using propylene as its key feedstock despite supply pressures, sources said.

Europe LDPE spot prices at lowest point since 2012, outlook unclear
Low density polyethylene (LDPE) spot prices are trading at their lowest point since 2012, and even lower – to the level of 2010, according to some buyers.