Weak Consumer Sentiment & Unexpected, Negative Clean Energy Sector Shocks – Not Positive For The Energy Transition

Daily Chemical Reaction

Weak Consumer Sentiment & Unexpected, Negative Clean Energy Sector Shocks – Not Positive For The Energy Transition

Key Points:

• US consumer sentiment fell for the fourth consecutive month in November, and adverse clean energy participant notices have risen – both favor lower energy transition investor risk tolerance.
• We argue that the unexpected magnitude of the issues at Plug Power has negative contagion effects on peers and new clean technologies seeking price, cost, and investor/funding support.
• We discuss a few slides from the Braskem 3Q23 report, the renewed interest in Braskem from ADNOC in media reports, and we display Braskem’s results and ambitions in green polyethylene.
• NW Europe and Asia natural gas prices have increased relative to US levels since mid-2023, and we display the chemical chains with the most significant links to natural gas and electricity prices.
• We highlight the YTD increase in interest rates that is weighing on US consumers, discuss a few critical indicators coming from China, and display a relative rank of economic policies by country.

See PDF below for all charts, tables and diagrams