Prices of chemical raw materials in northwest Europe hit extreme value

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On June 3, ICIS released a report saying that due to the continuation of the war in the Middle East and the unknown trend of the situation, European chemical traders once again encountered sudden market disturbances, and the price volatility of bulk basic chemical raw materials hit a rare level in nearly two decades. The price index is 100 constructed based on prices in the first week of 2019: after the outbreak of the Middle East conflict in late February, the Northwest European chemical raw materials index surged nearly 61 percent by the end of April; however, the index fell 13.6 percent month-on-month in May, a higher decline than in Northeast Asia and the U.S. Gulf of Mexico market.

ICIS this statistics selected benzene, butadiene, ethylene, methanol, propylene, toluene, xylene seven chemical basic raw materials northwest European spot prices, through the average weekly price relative to the standard deviation of the annual average price to quantify the price fluctuations. Since 2007, ICIS has carried out continuous statistics on the spot prices of the above-mentioned varieties in all regions of the world. As of the end of might 2026, the price evaporative environment rate during the year is second only to the 2008 global financial crisis, ranking second in history. The previous three years of market evaporative environment in the historical low range since 2007 (the lowest level in 8 years), so this year's market impact is particularly prominent; price ups and downs switch speed far greater than the 2022 Russian-Ukrainian conflict and other past crises.

The movement of Brent crude oil also confirmed the existence of market divergence, with oil prices posting their biggest monthly gain in five years in March, while Brent crude oil fell $22.31/bbl in might, the biggest cumulative monthly decline since the global closure of the New Crown epidemic in March 2020.

Affected by the restricted trade circulation in the Middle East and the soaring shipping freight rates on the global trunk routes, the supply of chemical goods in Europe has been tightened in stages. while the panic hoarding that flourished in March has subsided, the market's subsequent direction still lacks a clear direction.

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