Europe top stories: weekly summary

LONDON (ICIS)–Here are some of the top stories from ICIS Europe for the week ended 12 July.

Europe ethylene spot prices turn firmer on demand, feedstock, looming cracker turnarounds
European ethylene spot prices have firmed week on week on the back of better-than-expected demand amid higher feedstock values and an increasing focus on upcoming planned cracker maintenance outages.

Global crude demand slows in Q2, China consumption contracts – IEA
Global crude oil demand slumped to 710,000 bbl/day in Q2 2024 as China’s post-pandemic economic rebound ran its course, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Thursday.

Storm Beryl damage, economic loss to US estimated at $28-32 billion
Total damage and economic loss in the US from Storm Beryl amounted to $28-32 billion, according to meteorology firm AccuWeather.

Europe chemicals players expect construction demand to remain sluggish until H1 2025
Chemicals players in Europe do not expect any substantial recovery from the building and construction industry until the first half of 2025 at least.

Flooding to continue across central US as Beryl moves inland
Flash flooding is expected as Storm Beryl continues to progress across the central US, with blackouts and logistic shutdowns seen in parts of Texas.

‘Life-threatening’ storm surge in Texas as Hurricane Beryl makes US landfall
Hurricane Beryl has made landfall in eastern Texas and looks set to batter parts of the state’s key petrochemicals production hubs, with the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) warning of a life-threatening storm surge on Monday.