Europe top stories: weekly summary

LONDON (ICIS)–Here are some of the top stories from ICIS Europe for the week ended 14 June.

Steady demand keeps Europe butadiene prices firm, improved output but ongoing limitations
European butadiene (BD) output may have improved with the resolution of a couple of unplanned outages in May but an ongoing turnaround in the Netherlands and some unplanned downtime in France, amid talk of other issues, is keeping spot availability constrained and spot pricing firm.

ESA ’24: No easy fix for European spot sulphuric acid shortfall
European sulphuric acid buyers are somewhat resigned as an ongoing shortage of spot acid continues – with little evidence in sight for any improvement in availability.

Europe naphtha, Eurobob crack spreads suffer demand slump
Northwest European open-specification naphtha (OSN) spot values recovered from losses sustained last week as upstream Brent crude prices rose.

IPEX: Global spot index edges down on lower values across all regions
The global spot ICIS Petrochemical Index (IPEX) fell by 0.7% in the week ending 7 June on losses across all regions, not least northwest Europe.

Europe chems stocks, markets slump in wake of election upheaval
Stocks markets in Europe slumped on Monday after EU parliamentary results pointed to a rise in prominence for Eurosceptic parties, with the announcement of a snap election in France and the resignation of the Belgian Prime Minister.