Low prices and high financing costs are stalling energy transition and chemical sector growth investments in a weak macroeconomic setting, increasingly relying on consumers for
Western market consumers faced much greater price inflation than those in Asia in 2022, and most expect it to occur again in 2023. A plus
Commodity chemical producers lacking feedstock integration face difficult choices as the energy sector expands downstream, pressuring non-integrated chemical returns.
The North American petrochemical producer cost
We argue ESG investing is doing very little to support environmental initiatives, penalizing energy companies with transition plans rather than helping them.
ESG and
Producer prices continue to outpace consumer prices, implying more end-product price hikes or margin contraction lie ahead of many chemical product chains in 3Q. We
2Q chemical sector results will vary by region and may not be as dire for some as many envision, as shown with the BASF update.
US natural gas and ethane prices reflect strength relative to Brent Crude and Ex-US naphtha in 2Q22, a negative domestic feedstock development for commodity chemical
US spot polyethylene (PE) prices declined from a historic market premium relative to avg. NW Europe and Asia prices in 2021 to now reflect a
Global market indicators remain favorable for US commodity chemical producers relative to peers in Asia. Though factors are likely to shift by 2H22, a stronger-for-longer
Specialty chemical producers expect cost inflation to moderate in 2H22. We foresee a profit drop for US commodity producers during this period but find positive
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