You can access the Chemicals Monthly Briefing prepared by Dr Moncef HADHRI, Economic Affairs Manager at Cefic here.

The key findings are;

Global sentiment is slightly improving, but production growth will take time.

EU27 economic sentiment slightly up in March 2024.

European gas prices: There is no return to ‘old normal’ .

European gas prices (2024): 3.9 times higher than in the USA.

Destocking in chemicals is coming to an end.

Assessment of EU27 chemical overall order books showed gradual improvement.

EU27 chemicals business climate continued to improve.

EU27 chemicals confidence continued to increase.

Food & beverage increased for the third months in row.

Automotive production: slight upturn in Feb-2024.

2024 shows a weak start for most EU27 sectors.

EU27 manufacturing output in 2024: 6% below 2023 level.

UK Chemical production continued to decline in 2024.

China gaining share in the global chemical export at the expense of Europe and the USA.

China became the largest EU27 chemical import country.

European chemical markets: Sluggish demand and recovery is still way off.

Europe faces more structural challenges rather than business cycle issues.

You can also acces the extended Chemicals Monthly Report (CMR) titled "Re-Stocking brings some relief but no serious growth in demand" here.