Europe top stories: weekly summary

LONDON (ICIS)–Here are some of the top stories from ICIS Europe for the week ended 31 March.

March Europe soda ash prices soften further on gas prices, weaker fundamentals
European soda ash prices continue to fall in March in northwest Europe, tracking the downtrend in gas prices, and reflecting softer fundamentals.

EU investigates PET anti-dumping allegations against China
The European Commission announced the initiation of an anti-dumping investigation concerning imports of certain polyethylene terephthalate (PET) originating from China.

Industry ‘needs to redouble efforts’ to grow chemical recycling – INEOS exec
Industry must adapt to see waste as a new feedstock and needs to ‘redouble’ its efforts, but policy certainty will be key for investment decisions, according to an industry executive.

EU electricity proposals ‘not satisfactory’ to keep chemicals competitive – Spain’s Feique
The latest EU proposals to reform the electricity market fall short of guaranteeing the competitiveness of energy-intensive sectors such as chemicals, Spain’s trade group Feique said on Wednesday.

Depressed demand for durable goods hitting petrochemicals hard – SABIC exec
High inflation continues making consumers weary of big-ticket, durable-goods purchases and that is slowing down the recovery in the petrochemicals industry, according to an executive at SABIC.

INSIGHT: Europe styrene firmer on supply concerns as Q1 ends on weak note
Europe styrene spot prices firmed last week amid supply jitters surrounding domestic production issues. But it remains to be seen how long this uptrend will last, with some players pointing to a continuation of softer demand and lengthier supply rather than the improvement some had expected near the end of the first quarter.