Daily Chemical Reactions

Driving On “Crude” Control – Global Chemical Prices Sped Up With Crude In 2H23, Benefits To Hit The Brakes Into Year End
October 24, 2023
Commodities Mentioned:
Plastics (PVC, PP, PE, PU, PC, PET, etc.), Clean Energy Minerals, Carbon Dioxide, Hydrogen, Natural Gas/NGLs, Crude/Naphtha
Companies Mentioned:
Dow, Sherwin-Williams, ADM, NextEra, Kemira, Hexcel, FMC, Air Liquide, Syngenta, Azelis, Johnson Matthey, BP, Yansab, Treatt, Borouge, Maire Tecnimont, Vitol, Chevron, Aramco, ExxonMobil, Worley, Eni, TotalEnergies, Shell, Chandra Asri, Trafigura, Braskem, BASF, Neste, LyondellBasell, Halliburton, GM, GE, Nestle, Volvo, Li-Cycle, Electra, Sunnova, CNOOC

Daily Chemical Reaction

Driving On “Crude” Control – Global Chemical Prices Sped Up With Crude In 2H23, Benefits To Hit The Brakes Into Year End

Key Points:

  • The crude oil price rebound in 2H23 lifted global commodity chemical prices, favoring North American profit relative to Asia and Europe. Its impact on specialty results is much more mixed.
  • 3Q23 global commodity chemical profit fell relative to 2Q. Still, North American profit in 2H23 is higher than expected at mid-year, leading to strength at Dow compared to many Ex-US peers.
  • Specialty chemical results are mixed and likely to remain that way, and we discuss trends at Sherwin-Williams relative to Hexcel, and why 2023 raw material benefits may not recur in 2024.
  • We discuss the consolidation in multiple portions of the energy market, flag potential delays in energy transmission capacity favoring fossil fuels over renewables, and global NOC positioning.
  • Macroeconomic uncertainties, higher interest rates, and curbed lending, such as at European banks, are driving up project costs and causing the abandonment of many early-stage projects.

See PDF below for all charts, tables and diagrams


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