Industry News
Chemical Industry News
China’s average PX plant run rate uptrend continues on ops hikes
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--China’s para-xylene (PX) plant run rate increased further in the week ended 24 September, mainly as PetroChina Urumqi Petrochemical ramped up its operating rate to around 70%...
CRUDE SUMMARY: Crude rebounds as US-Iran diplomatic exchanges yield little progress
US and Iran continue to exchange rhetoric as UN forum delivers little progress Evidence of ships traversing Strait of Hormuz in greater volume capping oil price upside Restarted Saudi East-West...
China’s sulphur port inventories rise 12,000 tonnes on new arrivals
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--China’s sulphur port inventories rose to around 949,000 tonnes on 24 September, due to fresh cargo arrivals but fewer transactions, ICIS data showed. This marks an increase of...
China’s average PTA plant run rate up further on unit restart
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--China’s purified terephthalic acid (PTA) plant run rate rose further in the week ended 24 September, because Hailun Chemical’s No 3 unit restarted successfully and was running...
Italy’s long-term gas demand challenging to predict amid uncertain weather patterns
Weather forecast more difficult to predict Demand in winter 2026 expected to drop year on year Long-term demand projections uncertain across various stakeholders MILAN (ICIS)--Focasts for Italy's gas...
Hormuz troubles will never go away again – Verbio CEO
LONDON (ICIS)--The shipping uncertainties in the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb Strait will never go away again, the CEO of German biofuels producer Verbio predicted during a webcast press...
China BPA average plant run rate edges up to 63% on minor changes
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--The average run rate of China’s bisphenol A (BPA) plants was at around 63.0% in the week ended 24 September 2026, up by 0.3 percentage points from the last reporting period, ICIS...
INSIGHT: Distributors see margins rise as customers seek security of supply
BARCELONA (ICIS)--European chemical distributors are emerging as some of the beneficiaries of prolonged geopolitical disruption in the Middle East, reporting stronger sales and margins as downstream...
Google DeepMind’s mutation Atlas shines a light on our dark DNA
AI’s predictions on the impact of changing each and every base of the human genome will help scientists understand genetic basis of disease
Italy paves way for nuclear return with framework law
Italian Senate gives final approval to nuclear framework law Government to issue implementing decrees within 12 months First reactors targeted for 2033-2035, with long-term plans envisaging 8-16GW of...
Europe acrylate esters September contracts stable amid rising production costs
LONDON (ICIS)--Europe acrylate esters freely negotiated contracts for September have settled at rollovers. The stability in pricing comes despite rising energy and production costs. These were offset...
GAS ALERT: EWE Gasspeicher to auction short-term H-gas 2026/27 storage capacity
FRANKFURT (ICIS)--German storage operator EWE Gasspeicher will auction 880GWh, equivalent to around 82 million cubic meters (mcm), of H-gas storage capacity for the remainder of storage year 2026/27,...
Europe AA September contracts stable on weak demand
LONDON (ICIS)--The Europe acrylic acid (AA) market has seen the September freely negotiated contract settle at rollovers. Prices are unchanged from August despite key feedstock propylene seeing a...
China average acetic acid plants’ run rate down on plant shutdown
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--China acetic acid plants’ average run rate fell amid brief shutdown at Hualu Hengsheng and operational cutback at Yankuang. Huayi’s plant in Caojing resumed full operation....
Europe Q4 TIO2 talks hinge on costs vs demand tug-of-war
LONDON (ICIS)--Titanium dioxide (TiO2) players in Europe are facing tough Q4 talks, as elevated costs and margin needs clash with soft-to-weaker demand as the year end looms. This and other topics...
LNG Weekly Market Report: Europe, Asia prices move up as US-Iran optimism fades again
OUTLOOK ICIS East Asian spot LNG prices fell this week, but steadied in the mid-$20s/MMBtu on Thursday as hopes of US-Iran progress faded The market is monitoring Chinese President Xi's visit to meet...
Dr. Christoph Gürtler (VAA): Germany’s greatest competitive advantage is its skilled workforce
The chemical and pharmaceutical industry is the third-largest sector of our economy. It supplies the raw materials for countless products and applications in our daily lives—from medicines and plastics to specialty chemicals for the electronics
Meet diamondiyne, the new diamond-like carbon allotrope predicted 35 years ago
Unusual mix of sp and sp3 bonding could furnish porous material with unique properties
The PhD to biotech series: Clarifying your direction before you leave academia
In the first of a four-part series, Matteo Tardelli suggests some things to consider when deciding whether a move into industry is for you
EU project UNCOVER aims to convert CO₂ into ten marketable products
The European Commission has awarded €7 million to UNCOVER, a new Horizon Europe project bringing CO₂ conversion technologies closer to industrial-scale deployment and market uptake. As a project partner Steinbeis Europa Zentrum is leading the