The Weekly Catalyst

Global Chemical Update – Colder Weather
December 19, 2022
Report Sections:
Feedstocks & Energy, Global Ethylene Cracker, Spot Profit Analysis, Ethylene & Propylene, Price Trends, Polyethylene Review, Other Relevant Global Polymer Trends, Other Relevant Global Chemical Trends, Global Chemical Data Sheets, Flow Charts & Other Ancillary Data
Companies Mentioned:
Westlake, Oxy, Shin-Etsu, Formosa Plastics, Orbia, LyondellBasell, Braskem, ExxonMobil

The Weekly Catalyst

Global Chemical Update – Colder Weather

Key Points:

  • Global chemical demand headwinds and supply tailwinds are pressuring producer profitability, and we think outages are likely needed to push prices notably higher. Our indicators suggest a weak 1Q23.
  • North American polyvinyl chloride (PVC) led global polymer prices higher WoW, per our estimate, which also showed NW Europe polypropylene (PP) posted the greatest downtick during the period.
  • Brent Crude and Ex-US naphtha values declined WoW relative to US natural gas and USGC ethane, favoring global petrochemical production and, most negatively, for North American producers.
  • Macro indicators for farm-input sellers improved WoW. Corn values moved higher relative to soybeans, and ammonia-based fertilizer prices, on average, were unchanged though margins fell. 

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