Industry News
Chemical Industry News
Germany’s manufacturing orders fall for second month in June, chemicals rise 1.5%
LONDON (ICIS)--Following a revised 0.8% May decline, new orders in Germany’s manufacturing sector fell 1.0% month on month in June, according to statistical data released on Wednesday. Excluding...
Gas nominations tick up on Romanian-Ukrainian border despite Russian missile attack on Trans-Balkan infrastructure
GTSOU engineers carry out infrastructure checks Russian attacks targeted compressor station Moldova is not affected by pipeline damage LONDON (ICIS)--Gas flows were expected to continue on the...
Europe base oils Group III 4cSt range narrows on persistent tightness
LONDON (ICIS)--European base oils Group III values for 4cSt moved up on the low end this week, narrowing the range due to shortages in the market. Prices increased €10/tonne on the low end, making...
US July EO assessed at an increase on higher upstream prices
HOUSTON (ICIS)--US July ethylene oxide (EO) contracts were assessed at a 1 cent/lb increase from June as a result of higher upstream ethylene contract prices. Recently, ethylene prices have...
Eurozone construction sector enters 39th month of contraction in July
LONDON (ICIS)--The eurozone construction sectors woes continued into July, with the contraction in activity deepening month on month as new order volumes dwindled. Over three years into the sector...
Bulgaria delays implementation of spot trade notification rules amid concerns over gas liquidity crash
LONDON (ICIS)--Bulgarian gas grid operator Bulgartransgaz said it had delayed by a week the implementation of a new rule for the notification of bilateral spot gas trades amid concerns over the...
Asia’s June lube demand recovers
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Asia’s lube demand rose to a three-month high in June amid a sharp rebound in consumption in northeast Asia especially. Stronger demand contrasted with signs of steady base oils...
Thailand’s Group I base oils supply holds firm for third month in June
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Thailand’s Group I base oils supply held firm in June for a third month, boosting stocks ahead of the shutdown at one of the country’s key base oils units. The firmer supplies...
British gas exports to Netherlands curtailed due to reduced pressure at terminal
Britain-Netherlands pipeline capacity expected to be reduced 1.1GWh/h until 26 August Due to pressure issues at Bacton gas terminal Limited pricing impact expected as domestic storage injections...
Europe MEK prices decrease, seasonal low demand
LONDON (ICIS)--European spot prices for methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) have softened by €20/tonne to €1,150-1,200/tonne FD (free delivered) NWE (northwest Europe) on ample supply and weak demand....
Europe pharmaceutical IPA softens slightly on lengthy conditions
LONDON (ICIS)--European pricing for pharmaceutical grade isopropanol (IPA) has softened slightly, while technical and cosmetic grade pricing remains stable. Technical grade pricing was assessed at...
OUTLOOK: European refinery solvents face stagnation amid underperforming downstream and upstream volatility
LONDON (ICIS)--Stagnating demand, unknown feedstock moves and tariff chaos are headlines for the European refinery solvents markets in H2 2025. Hexane to benefit from food oil extraction demand White...
Canada’s chemical industry looks to USMCA as 35% US tariffs hit
TORONTO (ICIS)--While the US has further raised its tariffs on goods from Canada, the compliance rate of Canadian chemical and plastics products with the US-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) trade agreement is...
Gold samples heated to 19,000K without losing their crystalline structure
Ultrafast lasers used to superheat gold films faster than they can melt
AI tools turned to creating designer proteins for personalised cancer therapies and antibiotics
Powerful new class of AI model could dramatically speed up process of producing new kinds of drug candidates
Left-handed or right-handed? Nanostructures identified by light
How do left-handed and right-handed molecules differ? Researchers at ETH Zurich are using a new imaging method to visualise what was previously only measurable as an average, opening up new possibilities for biology and materials
Engineered enzyme to precisely build complex molecules
Researchers at the University of Basel have repurposed a natural enzyme so that it catalyzes a highly challenging chemical reaction. Their approach opens new possibilities for synthesizing complex molecules—such as pharmaceuticals and fine chemicals—in a
DECHEMA Research Institute to move at the end of 2025
The DECHEMA Research Institute (DFI) will move its headquarters to Bad Homburg vor der Höhe at the end of 2025. The move is planned for November/December 2025 and represents a significant step for the institute.
New Discovery in Enzyme Research: Water is the Key for Activity
Researchers from the University of Greifswald have discovered a special feature of enzymes that play a role in the conversion of sugar molecules. They identified a precisely coordinated water molecule. In the long run, this