Daily Chemical Reaction
Money, Money, Money – Energy May Be Unpopular, But Sure Is Profitable; Dilemma for LyondellBasell?
Key Points:
- Global energy markets favor producers and low-cost downstream manufacturers, such as US refiners and chemicals, creating significant strategic dilemmas for some in a setting of heightened political and investor pressure to boost clean resources.
- NW Europe and Asia natural gas prices have notably increased since July, implying relative cost benefits for US chemical producers in 2H22 if conditions hold.
- Commodity chemical profit concerns in 2H22 are broadly cautious, while Specialty producers are more optimistic due in part to anticipations of customer restocking.
- We provide more commentary on the benefits of an emerging US climate bill, flag Air Liquide and Eastman initiatives, and discuss the Olin ESG quarterly scorecard.
- We highlight North American rail traffic and relative US currency swings along with end-market producers, such as P&G, efforts to push prices to offset higher costs.
See PDF below for all charts, tables and diagrams