Chemicals
Overview
From wellhead to warehouse, the global chemical industry is a complex chain stretching across the world. It involves chemical producers, converters, transporters and plastic goods manufacturers, to name just a few. To navigate this often opaque industry, you need access to the latest market intelligence.
Our industry-recognised experts provide in-depth pricing data, news and analysis on the markets that matter most to you. And they’re located across the world’s principal commodity trading and production centres.
Our coverage connects feedstock markets with aromatics, methanol, olefins, polymer and oleochemical markets. We help you to mitigate risk by truly understanding your market, from the wellhead to the end product.
Chemicals - Our market coverage
Latest chemicals news
Browse the latest market moving news on the global chemicals industry.
Brazil’s central bank cuts target rate to 14.25pc
Brazil’s central bank cuts target rate to 14.25pc
Sao Paulo, 17 June (Argus) — Brazil's central bank lowered its target rate by a quarter point to 14.25pc today in its fourth meeting of 2026, while ongoing uncertainty over the Mideast Gulf war continues to weigh on the outlook. The decision to lower the rate, announced on Wednesday, followed similar 0.25pc cuts in March and April . Domestically, economic activity appears to be recovering from the previous quarter, and the labor market shows signs of resilience, the central bank's monetary committee Copom said. Despite inflation risks continuing to be higher than usual, the committee decided to maintain its cutting trajectory, it said. In the US, Federal Reserve policymakers kept the target rate unchanged Wednesday for a fourth meeting this year while penciling in a possible rate hike by the end of the year. Brazil's headline inflation accelerated to an annual 4.72pc in May . Inflation expectations, as calculated by the bank's Focus survey, remain above target at 5.3pc for 2026 and 4.1pc for 2027. Economic growth slowed to an annual 1.8pc in the first quarter, according to official statistics agency data. For full-year 2025, GDP growth slowed to 2.3pc from 3.4pc in 2024 By João Curi Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Iranian oil likely to return to mainstream fleet
Iranian oil likely to return to mainstream fleet
New York, 17 June (Argus) — The non-sanctioned crude tanker market could see a surge in demand if the pending peace deal between the US and Iran lifts penalties that have weighed on Iranian oil for years, according to shipowners at the Marine Money Conference in New York this week. Iranian crude is commonly transported on "shadow fleet" vessels, older, poorly insured ships that are used to bypass western sanctions to transport sanctioned crude to global markets. The draft of the 14-point memorandum between the US and Iran, leaked yesterday, included the lifting of western sanctions and the issuance of waivers for exports of Iranian crude , petrochemical products and their derivatives, and all related services, including banking, insurance and transportation. "Part of the agreement is that Iranian oil comes back into the fold, and that would certainly mean, over time, this oil will be transported on (mainstream) vessels," Capital Tankers chief executive Jerry Kalogiratos told the conference. Once Iranian oil is treated the same as other non-sanctioned crude, there will be no incentive for importers to use the "sub-standard ships", he said. Iranian oil that may be relieved of sanctions under the US-Iran agreement is a completely "new barrel" to the compliant fleet, shipowner Frontline's chief executive Lars Barstad said on the panel. Heightened demand for Iranian crude transported on mainstream fleet tankers could help support rates for crude tankers. The US Office of Foreign Assets Control's (OFAC) issuance of a general license on Venezuelan crude earlier this year — after the US captured the country's president and the subsequent increase in Venezuelan exports carried by compliant ships — has had a similar supportive effect on crude rates out of the US Gulf coast . "It's an exceptional deal for Iran," said OFAC's former head of policy Stephanie Connor at the same conference. Before the US-Iran conflict, China's independent refining industry was one of the main importers of Iranian crude, despite the US sanctions. With the issuance of a general license on Iranian export, countries that were sanctioned by the US would be incentivized to buy Iranian crude . "If OFAC issues a general license on Friday, that's great, for some people," Connor said. "Mostly US adversaries who are already trading in Iran, despite US sanctions." By Delfina Marchese and Charlotte Bawol Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
US PET collection falls, rPET demand weakens: NAPCOR
US PET collection falls, rPET demand weakens: NAPCOR
Houston, 12 June (Argus) — US polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle collection rates fell in 2024 while demand for recycled material weakened, despite gains in recovery and processing capacity, according to the National Association for PET Container Resources (NAPCOR). The US PET bottle collection rate declined to 30.2pc in 2024 after falling from 32.5pc a year earlier, even as the total volume of bottles available for recycling rose by 3.5pc to about 6mn lb, NAPCOR said in its 2024 PET Recycling Report . At the same time, total consumption of recycled PET (rPET) across US and Canadian end markets dropped, highlighting weaker demand for recycled material. The data show a growing imbalance in the PET recycling market, where supply and recovery are improving but end-market demand is failing to keep pace. Supply expands as rPET demand falters On the supply side, PET availability continued to expand. Imports of virgin and recycled PET for bottle applications increased by 8pc in 2024, while US reclaimers processed 1.97bn lb of material, up by 1.5pc from the previous year. Thermoform recovery recorded the most significant growth. Total recovered PET thermoforms in the US and Canada jumped by 52pc to 264mn lb, driven largely by improved identification of thermoform material in bottle bales and advances in sorting and reclamation technologies. But these gains were not matched by stronger demand for recycled content. Post-consumer recycled (PCR) content use in PET thermoforms fell sharply, dropping to around 12pc from 18pc a year earlier. The decline reflects shifting end-market dynamics and economic pressures. Growth in food and foodservice packaging, which typically uses lower levels of recycled content, diluted overall PCR rates even as the mix of virgin and recycled inputs remained largely unchanged, NAPCOR said. High prices curb recycled PET demand Pricing dynamics played a central role. The premium for rPET over virgin PET widened significantly, reaching as much as 38pc on the US east coast, compared with around 11pc at the start of 2024. "There was an increasing premium for recycled PET over the course of 2024… At its highest point, there was a 38pc premium for east coast rPET pellet over virgin," NAPCOR said in an emailed response to Argus. "This means the cost pressure for recycled-content usage ramped up through most of the year, which certainly would have impacted some converters' decisions." Higher domestic rPET prices also encouraged substitution toward lower-cost alternatives. Imports of rPET rose to a record 395mn lb, accounting for 23pc of total consumption, while some manufacturers shifted back to virgin resin. Although thermoform recovery increased sharply, most of this material continues to be processed alongside bottles rather than recycled back into thermoform packaging. The largest end market for recycled PET remains food and beverage bottles, limiting closed-loop systems for thermoforms. Technical barriers are no longer the primary constraint; economics remains the key challenge. "Meeting food-contact requirements is not difficult if the right technology and machinery are used… The biggest barrier to thermoform-to-thermoform recycling for food-contact applications may be cost," NAPCOR said. Looking ahead, NAPCOR pointed to policy as a potential driver of stronger demand. While several US states have introduced recycled content mandates, most do not apply to non-bottle rigid packaging such as thermoforms. New Jersey remains an exception, with a 10pc recycled content requirement for non-food rigid plastic packaging that will expand to include food-contact applications in 2027. "Because brands and converters can back away from voluntary commitments… mandates or eco-modulation incentives through EPR programs would be promising avenues to boost PCR usage in thermoforms," NAPCOR said. Absent stronger policy support or more favorable pricing dynamics, continued gains in PET recovery may not translate into higher recycled content use, reinforcing structural imbalances across the recycling value chain. By Dona Davis Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Feedstock boom to drive Argentina petchems
Feedstock boom to drive Argentina petchems
Sao Paulo, 11 June (Argus) — Argentina's petrochemical industry has entered a new investment cycle, supported by abundant feedstock from the Vaca Muerta formation and a renewed push to add value domestically rather than export raw molecules, company executives said. The executives, who gathered in Buenos Aires on 9 June for an event marking the 50th anniversary of the Argentinian Petrochemicals Institute (IPA), described a sector with access to a far larger resource base than in the 1990s, when much of Argentina's current production platform was built. The group included chief executives from leading companies such as Mega, Profertil, Petroquimica Cuyo, Unipar and Dow. The key difference today from the 1990s is scale, they said. The Vaca Muerta shale formation offers abundant natural gas and associated natural gas liquids (NGLs) capable of underpinning multiple industrial projects across the value chain. As feedstock access is no longer the main constraint, Argentina now has sufficient ethane, propane, butane and natural gas to sustain long-term growth. But the timing of new projects will depend on global market conditions, financing costs and the ability to provide stable rules for long-term investments. Executives highlighted global imbalances as a major constraint for ethylene and its derivatives. The global industry is operating in a downcycle, with utilization rates below profitability thresholds and persistent oversupply in polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), partly driven by rapid capacity additions in China. At the same time, geopolitical tensions have introduced volatility in logistics and trade flows. Any sustained disruption or capacity rationalization could help rebalance markets and bring forward investment decisions in Argentina. Midstream and petrochemical company Mega's expansion, in the Bahia Blanca port, emerged as the most advanced downstream project. The company has commissioned a new fractionation train after investing around $260mn, increasing liquids processing capacity and enabling higher output of NGLs, critical feedstocks for petrochemical chains. A second phase, submitted under Argentina's incentive regime for large investments (Rigi), would expand transport and pumping capacity between Bahia Blanca and Neuquen, raising the total investment to about $360mn. The project is seen as key to unlocking greater availability of ethane and LPG for ethylene, PE and PP production. Executives stressed that ethane industrialization is strategically necessary but commercially challenging in the short term. Rising LNG developments will generate large volumes of ethane that must be extracted from natural gas streams. Without sufficient downstream capacity, Argentina risks exporting or burning this feedstock instead of converting it into higher-value petrochemicals. But weak margins and limited demand growth continue to delay large-scale ethylene and PE projects. Argentinian PP producer Petrocuyo reinforced the case for capturing more value through domestic PP production. The company argued that Argentina should prioritize converting propane into polymers rather than exporting raw molecules. But it warned that Chinese overcapacity continues to pressure PP markets and that high local financing costs remain a major barrier compared with lower-cost international competitors. Brazilian chlor-alkali producer Unipar Carbocloro, which also operates in Argentina, outlined a more defensive investment approach, focused on competitiveness rather than volume growth. The company is evaluating a modernization project in Bahia Blanca that would reduce electricity consumption by around 30pc, cut water use and lower carbon intensity. Nitrogen fertilizer producer Profertil pointed to comparatively stronger fundamentals in fertilizers, although executives acknowledged that nitrogen projects currently face fewer structural headwinds than olefins and polyolefins. The panel closed with broad consensus: Argentina has the resources and industrial base to support a new petrochemical wave. But converting feedstock into sustained growth in ethylene, PE and PP will depend on aligning infrastructure, financing, market timing and policy support. By Fred Fernandes Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Spotlight content
Browse the latest thought leadership produced by our global team of experts.
