Europe top stories: weekly summary

LONDON (ICIS)–Here are some of the top stories from ICIS Europe for the week ended 5 July.

Shell to post up to $2 billion in impairments in Q2 results
Energy major Shell on Friday said that it expects to book $2 billion in post-tax impairments following the sale of its Singapore assets and the suspension of construction at its biofuels plant in the Netherlands.

European Commission imposes China EV tariffs citing ‘unfair’ subsidies
The European Commission is to move forward with proposed plans to impose tariffs of nearly 40% in some cases to China-manufactured battery electric vehicles (BEVs), citing a level of state subsidy it terms as “unfair”.

Global phenol demand expected to rise, driven by downstream growth
Global phenol demand is expected to increase by about 1.9% in 2024 after a weak 2023, supported by growth in the key downstream bisphenol A (BPA) market.

Europe cracker margins down on firmer naphtha, LPG costs
Europe cracker margins went down week on week on the back of firmer feedstock costs, ICIS margin analysis showed on Tuesday.

Eurozone manufacturing momentum ebbs in June as demand deteriorates
Eurozone manufacturing sector activity slipped further into contraction in June as demand slowed in most of the bloc’s largest economies, while conditions improved in the UK.